moments with you
by Tsuru Maiden
Summary: GoGo Tomago recounts the moments she spent with Tadashi Hamada – Tomadashi; Tadashi X GoGo. Drabble series. Pre-BH6; slight fluff.
1. Coat

**Author's note: To all who have read, reviewed and favourited 'five times she falls', my first Big Hero 6 fanfic, I give a very big thank you! As it had been a story with a dark tone and was marked as a tragedy, I have received some feedback on a happier Tomadashi story next time. Thus, I present to you "Moments", which mostly contains a lighter take on Tomadashi, and some fluff. ****Moments may not be set in chronological order. ****Thank you once again for the time taken to read both of my fanfics, and I hope readers enjoy! Please follow for updates on future chapters~**

* * *

1.

"Trying to be a gentleman, Hamada?" GoGo drawls as she tightens the black leather jacket around her petite body. The wind howls in reply, and dark clouds loomed over like a menacing curtain, threatening rain and thunder at any moment. GoGo grunts when she's buffeted by another gust of wind, the cold biting at her skin. She doesn't have her bike with her, and neither did Tadashi have his moped (When she shot him a look, he had mumbled something along the lines of "Broke down", "Hiro". "Moshi" and finally, "It's a long story."). So they had to _walk_ back to the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology in order to attend a lecture by Professor Callaghan, in the midst of a dawning storm.

In all, GoGo's in a bad mood, and seeing Tadashi take off his jacket- presumably for Honey Lemon, whom he's standing beside, makes her feel worse for some reason.

"Maybe," Tadashi grins as he hands said jacket over to GoGo. GoGo (being the supposed laconic, sarcastic, sassy and witty person she supposedly was) ends up staring at him.

"Isn't this for Honey Lemon?" She almost stammers. Tadashi simply smiles.

"I think Wasabi already has that covered." He indicates the hulking male handing Honey Lemon his dark green jacket, who promptly grins and thanks him.

GoGo is still a little stunned, but when Tadashi thrusts the jacket towards her more insistingly, she mumbles a "Thank you" and accepts it gratefully, because her skin is starting to break out into more goosebumps and her leather jacket (which is more of a fashion statement than an insulator of the cold) is barely enough to keep her warm.

When she thinks Tadashi isn't looking, GoGo pulls the jacket closer to her body and smiles a little.

It smelled of singed fabric (1), but for once, she doesn't quite mind.

* * *

(1) I've read about Tadashi getting burnt after Baymax short circuits (because I can't remember the exact details of Tadashi's test runs on Baymax), and that led to the singed jacket idea. And while the short circuiting part might be movie-canon, I'm not sure if Tadashi was wearing his blazer/ jacket during then. So, my apologies, everyone, if you're confused about it.


	2. Cookies

2.

GoGo Tomago is annoyed. Irked. Miffed. Bothered. In other words, very very upset.

The electro-magnetic wheels she's trying to invent keeps falling apart, its blueprints are starting to look fuzzy to her, her last piece of gum is turning stale, and GoGo feels her frustration mounting by the second. Blowing a large bubble and popping it loudly, GoGo sighs and spits out the gum into the trash can. Everyone had long went home with a productive day of research and inventions, and she swears even Tadashi is getting his marshmallow-bot, Baymax-or-some-other-name together.

So why was _she_ the only one with wheels that refuse to stay intact?

GoGo's stomach grumbles. She skipped out on dinner earlier in an attempt to make up for the lack of positive results with her invention, but it had ended in vain. GoGo doubts that there's anything left in the kitchen- a small, rarely used corner positioned two rooms away from the 'Nerd Lab', which also acted as a pantry. Professor Callaghan had insisted on such arrangements when he discovered how obsessive the five (though Fred's countability was questionable) of them could be when they were caught up in their research- to the point that they would neglect food until Fred pointed out they hadn't eaten for the day. But a trip to the kitchen would be worth a try- GoGo decides she needs to clear her head anyway.

It's quiet, and the only sound GoGo can hear is the flickering electric boards in the distant, outside the lab. Everyone has left ages ago- even Tadashi, who was usually the one to stay up the latest. Given that it's 1 am in the morning, GoGo concedes that if she doesn't make a breakthrough in another hour, she'd be better off packing up for the night (or day, depending how she looked at it). Still, an off day would affect her work negatively. GoGo groans once more as she stalks towards the kitchen.

For a while, she wonders if it's better giving up on her project-

She breaks out of her train of thought when she's met with the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies.

GoGo frowns in confusion (even though chocolate chip is her favorite cookie flavor), wondering if Honey Lemon has decided on a midnight baking project. She almost winces. Honey's a competent scientist, but her baking skills were… on a whole new, and separate, level. GoGo understands Honey's passion towards chemistry, but, simply put, experimenting with chemicals in the lab and experimenting with baking ingredients were two separate things. The former sounded more dangerous, but after tasting her 'Iced Honey Lemon cookies (1)' the other day, GoGo's starting to think the latter could be more life-threatening.

Oh well, she sighs. At least Fred managed to give Honey a decent nickname (Tadashi was the one to point out that "Iced Honey Lemon" and "Honey Lemon cookies" were too long, and GoGo took the role of breaking it to Fred that both were downright stupid nicknames. The five of them eventually settled on a compromise.)

Which is why her jaw drops when it's not the eccentric blonde standing in the kitchen, but Tadashi Hamada instead.

"_Tadashi_? What are _you_ doing here?" GoGo demands, startled. Tadashi's head whips around and he turns to survey GoGo in slight surprise.

"Baking?" Tadashi replies uncertainly, pulling out a pan of freshly baked cookies from the oven. GoGo's still in a grouchy mood, and seeing the person most likely to break her stoic facade doesn't help (she tries to tell herself at _least_ it's not Fred, but being mad at Fred and being mad at Tadashi was different somehow; the latter made her more flustered, and the former was more annoying). However, Tadashi _is_ baking, and GoGo's hungry. So she moves over to the kitchen counter, where Tadashi's setting the stack of cookies on the cooling rack, and seats herself on one of the tall chairs propped next to it. She spends the next few seconds staring at the cooling cookies.

GoGo's about to swallow her pride a little (because it _was_ Tadashi who told her she'd regret it if she missed dinner) and ask if she can have one, but Tadashi's already handing her a large chocolate chip cookie.

"I thought you'd be hungry after missing dinner. And grumpy, cos you're out of gum. Hiro's been bugging me about baking him chocolate chip cookies after he saw the ones Honey Lemon gave me last time. So I thought I'd make it here and give some to you too." Tadashi's saying. GoGo blinks and gingerly accepts the cookie. Her right hand stows around her pockets and she realises that he _is_ right- that she's out of gum. (And that she'd be hungry, but that was technically common sense and nothing to do with Tadashi's observance of her well-being). GoGo's surprised; even though she knew her gum supply was dwindling, she hadn't been aware that she'd already ran out. And she's even _more_ surprised that Tadashi's realised.

"Y'know, everyone has their off days sometimes," Tadashi interrupts her thoughts, positioning himself in a seat opposite of her. GoGo sighs softly, but feels slightly more comforted when she takes a bite out of the warm and soft confection she's still holding. She closes her eyes in bliss for a while. It's always been her favorite- ever since her mother had made it for her when she was young. A chewy and sweet heaven (She knows it's stupid to call a cookie _heaven_ but hey, she was only _five years old _back then). GoGo's eyes dull a little when she remembers it's always been something her stepmother could never seem to carry out with the same success (Her cookies always ended up either crunchy or rock-hard).

"But it's not everyone who fails to come up with anything productive when everyone else has." GoGo mutters after swallowing, a little depressed. Tadashi snorts.

"You kidding? I'm on my thirtieth test on Baymax today, and the only thing he's succeeded in doing is beat me up, deflate, screech, and otherwise, fail. If he weren't a robot, I'd swear he's doing it on purpose." Tadashi complains.

"But when he succeeds, it'll all be worth it." GoGo looks up when she hears the way Tadashi's voice softens, and she sees the gentle look in his brown eyes.

"He's going to help a lot of people when he functions properly, when I succeed. That's why I'm never giving up." Tadashi resolves, an undaunted smile adorning his determined features. And that's when GoGo has to smile at his words, because Tadashi Hamada _always_ manages to inspire her somehow, even when he's not meaning to, even when he's merely speaking about his thoughts and beliefs.

"But it's also unhealthy staying up too long, so you should rest early too." The spell is broken, and Tadashi reverts back to his chiding-mother-hen persona. GoGo stifles a laugh and rolls her eyes.

"I get it, _Hamada_," GoGo teases, knowing it irked her best friend when she used his last name in a sarcastic remark, "I'll call it a day if I can't make a breakthrough in half an hour." She turns to leave just as Tadashi begins packing the cookies into a paper bag. But before she leaves, GoGo turns back, a small smile on her face, and makes her resolve as well.

"But even if that's so, I'm not giving up, either."

Tadashi grins.

* * *

As GoGo packs up for the night (or day, she's starting to get slightly confused), she finds a neatly folded paper bag on her table, with a note taped to it.

_"I lied. Hiro doesn't like them, but Honey told me they were your favourite."_

Inside the paper bag were chocolate chip cookies.

* * *

(1) I originally just wanted this to be a super short drabble on Tadashi baking while GoGo happened to be hungry. But when I searched cookie flavours, I found 'Iced Honey Lemon cookies' and I thought it'd be cool for Honey Lemon to get her nickname from there.


	3. Sleep

**Author's notes: Using past tense for this chapter! The idea was too suitable to pass up on. Thanks for the support, readers! Hope you enjoy the newest update- set chronologically after the second chapter.**

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3.

"Tadashi?" GoGo called out uncertainly as she walked into the Nerd Lab. She had planned to have breakfast with the recently sleepless Hamada, who had been constantly burning the midnight oil in an attempt to get Baymax to function properly. The last time she checked, he had been on his thirty-seventh test, and judging by the way Baymax had short-circuited and singed his jacket, GoGo's pretty certain it wouldn't be the last test Tadashi had to perform.

After the cookies he had given her, GoGo had wanted to repay the debt, which was why she was up much earlier than usual- at 7 am in the morning, wanting to invite Tadashi out for coffee. GoGo stifled a yawn. Sleeping at 3 am in the morning had been an obvious mistake- given how early she had to wake to get to the university in time, but Honey's persistent interrogation on her relationship with Tadashi yesterday had distracted her too much to properly go on with her science project, which prompted her to pull a late night in an attempt to make up for it. The faint shadows under GoGo's eyes were proof enough, but GoGo was aware that Tadashi's state was even worse than her. He was still in the lab yesterday even when she had prepared to leave, a look of weary determination on his face as he observed Baymax once more. She had left him a cup of coffee as an encouragement.

GoGo walked up to Tadashi's lab and knocked on the door. When no reply came, she stepped in silently, knowing Tadashi wouldn't mind even if he wasn't around. GoGo frowned at the sight before her. No one seemed to be present in the room. It was quiet.

In fact, the entire Nerd Lab was silent. Honey Lemon, Wasabi and Fred would probably turn up in one, two and three hours time respectively (Honey always came at 8 am sharp with a cup of tea in her hands, Wasabi came at 9 am- Half an hour earlier if he had to clean up, while Fred would make his way in at 10 am, yawning all the way, unless he had "early mascot duties" to attend to). Tadashi's time of arrival fluctuated wildly depending on his sleep (or rather, his lack of sleep, considering his late nights in the lab), and for a while, GoGo cursed herself silently for expecting Tadashi to actually be awake to have breakfast with her. He had probably been up until 4 in the morning, despite his insistence that staying up late was bad for one's health (GoGo wished he'd take his _own_ advice sometimes.) and was now in his bedroom snoring away. Oh well, GoGo sighed. If she was here early, she might as well resume her work. But before she left, GoGo walked up to the propped up body of what was supposed to be Baymax.

"So you're Baymax, huh?" She muttered. "You've been giving Tadashi trouble and sleepless nights, y'know?" She chuckled lightly as she surveyed the soft and huggable robot. Turning her head to observe the rest of the room, GoGo caught sight of something she hadn't seen when she first walked into the room.

"TADASHI?!" GoGo ran up to the curled up figure under the desk. He still had his cap on, and his knees were hugged against his chest, compressing himself as small as possible. GoGo almost laughed.

Tadashi Hamada had fallen asleep under his table.

"Had me worried there for a sec," GoGo whispered. But it was good that her best friend (she insisted that that was what he remained, no matter how much Honey claimed she and Tadashi were "practically dating") was finally resting. GoGo had almost thought that Tadashi was suffering from a bout of insomnia as of recent, the way he constantly stayed up and deepened the dark crescents under his eyes. Slowly, she removed the cap on his head and smoothed out his messy raven hair. Trust the Hamada to take a nap under the cramped space of a desk.

GoGo yawned. Her lack of sleep was catching up with her too.

Though, she had better get Tadashi to a more comfortable napping area first.

* * *

Honey Lemon bounced into the Nerd Lab cheerfully. She frowned. She could have sworn Tadashi and GoGo would be here be here by now- they usually arrived earlier than her. But the place seemed unusually quiet.

"GoGo? Tadashi?" Noticing that the door to Tadashi's lab was open, Honey entered it cautiously.

She almost gasped at what she saw.

Under Tadashi's table was not one, but two sleeping figures. One of them had his knees hugged against his chest, his signature cap missing from view, while the other figure was resting against his body, an unusual cap decorating her short and ruffled hair.

Honey Lemon chuckled. Tadashi and GoGo already looked much better from their recent nap- they had relaxed and peaceful expressions on their faces. It seemed cramp under there, but Honey Lemon didn't have it in her heart to awake them. Best to let them wake when their rest peaked and pretend she saw nothing.

Still, Honey Lemon whipped out her phone, ensured that it was on silent mode, and swiftly took a photo of the scene before her.

It was too sweet to pass up on after all.

* * *

GoGo had no idea why Honey Lemon insisted on a pass code for her phone after that fateful (and embarrassing) day where she fell asleep against Tadashi Hamada.

She's even more mystified by Honey Lemon's reply- "There are some important photos too significant to risk being deleted."

* * *

Done! I apologise for the slightly abrupt ending :( I'll try for a longer chapter next time round!


	4. Weight

4.

GoGo Tomago is slightly self-conscious about her weight (and, on an associative note, her height and figure too.)

There, she's admitted it. She just doesn't let it show. GoGo's not obsessive about her figure. She's stopped doing that years ago when yet another one of her stepmother's strict diet schemes has failed spectacularly. From then on, she's told herself that nothing else about what she ate and how she looked mattered so long as she was fit and healthy. And she still goes by that belief, even now.

She's just the _slightest_ bit put out that Honey Lemon's not only tall; (she almost towers over GoGo by a whole head. _More_ than a whole head, in fact, when in heels.) she's also slim and beautiful. And while GoGo never lets their differing appearances get in the way of their friendship, she can't help envying Honey Lemon's appearance at times, especially when the latter's sweet tooth became strongly evident in the desserts she orders when they're out (1).

GoGo tries her best not to let that trait blemish her self-esteem. She's pretty happy in her own skin- she's already shown that she's strong enough even without a standard feminine figure. Hell, she's even an adrenaline-junkie, in fact.

But that doesn't help when its 'Healthcare Day', and Professor Callaghan invites a few nurses from the San Fransyoko Medical Institute to take the heights, weights and blood pressures of the Institute of Technology students to give some other long-winded healthcare talk. Since the Nerd Lab only had five participants, it was deemed troublesome to set up screens and stations when taking down the particulars of the patients.

Which is why anyone's weight will be known to everyone in the room. And that thought makes GoGo just the slightest bit uncomfortable.

GoGo hopes (just a little) that Honey Lemon would go a few places after her- so nobody would compare the weights between the two girls. But no, luck wouldn't have it that way. The nurses insists on alphabetical order and GoGo is forced up, because G comes before H (even though she wants to protest that GoGo's technically not her real name). GoGo stands by the measuring tape first, trying to look bored and discontented as she pops her bubblegum loudly. She's long given up trying to seem taller than she actually was (which originally involved heels at Honey's insistence. GoGo dropped the idea within 24 hours) and she patiently waits for the nurse to write down 162.5 cm on her clipboard because GoGo knows she's not growing any taller at nineteen years old. Fred ambles close to the nurse curiously, and GoGo swears if he makes any comment about her height, she's going to stomp on his feet- shoeless or not.

When it's time to take her weight, GoGo sighs and spits out her gum at the nurse's insistence. Almost tentatively, she steps onto the weighing scale, risking a slight glance at the beeping numbers beneath her.

53 kg.

GoGo's taken aback, inwardly. She knows the average weight for her size is 50 kg, and the fact that she's still managed to exceed it despite her petite stature comes as somewhat of an unwanted surprise.

"Wow, GoGo, you're-" Fred's curiosity peaks and he squints down at the numbers displayed on the minuscule screen.

GoGo's eye twitches just the slightest, and she steps down from the weighing scale just in time to stamp her right foot on Fred's.

"Fifty-three." Fred winces at the impact, but it doesn't stop him from reading aloud the mortifying news. GoGo says nothing, either to deny or confirm Fred's words, but shoves her feet back into her trainers when the Nurse spouts Honey Lemon's name next, maintaining a nonchalant air. GoGo shuffles to the sidelines, and just as she thinks it's safe and no one is poking fun about her statistics, Fred cheerily announces that Honey Lemon's a 177.5 cm (which meant she had grown slightly taller. Again.) and that she weighs three kilograms lighter than GoGo- at 50 kg. GoGo merely gives a small smile when Honey Lemon lights up at the news of her weight, evidently pleased that her new diet's worked, and tries not to notice Tadashi Hamada staring at her with a thoughtful look on his face.

It's Fred's turn next, but GoGo's distracted, trying to ignore Tadashi, who doesn't seem to have the same qualms as her, given how he's smiling at her with a musing look.

"Amused by my weight?" GoGo mutters out of the corner of her mouth. She can't help it. Her best friend's starting to unnerve her and the sooner she find out the reason behind it (even though she's pretty convinced she has the general idea about it by now), the sooner she can punch him. Hard.

"I think I can carry you. You're pretty light," Tadashi comments off-handedly. GoGo turns and just stares back, because of all things, _that_, is the last thing she expects to hear from him.

"What. Are you talking about?" GoGo enunciates slowly, wondering if Tadashi's knocked his head too hard on his fortieth test earlier when Baymax punched him.

"Can I try lifting you up now?" Tadashi visibly brightens.

"N-No!" GoGo almost splutters. She hastily lowers her voice. "What the heck are you saying? Honey Lemon's lighter than me." She hisses, then regrets it almost immediately because for one reason or another, GoGo doesn't quite enjoy the idea of Honey Lemon in Tadashi's arms.

"It's more fun if it's you."

This time, GoGo's completely and utterly stunned. She's just staring into Tadashi Hamada's warm brown eyes, and he's almost trailing closer, closer and closer-

"Tadashi Hamada!" The spell breaks at the exact same time the nurse shatters the silence, and Tadashi smiles at GoGo one last time before turning away to heed his turn. That leaves GoGo standing motionlessly, eyes still wide with surprise and shock. Hurriedly, she crosses her arms and leans against the wall, acting as if nothing has happened even when she notices Wasabi's look of suspicion, and Honey Lemon's suggestive smile.

But when no one's looking, GoGo can't help but let her usually stoic mask break into the smallest of smiles.

Maybe her current appearance wasn't too bad after all. In fact, GoGo decides she's _perfectly_ happy in her own skin.

And she wouldn't force herself to change that for anything else in the world.

* * *

(1) Honey Lemon's really sweet and nice, and she does strike me as someone who might have a sweet tooth too!

I think I need lessons, or at least tips, on how to end stories nicely. I tried to portray GoGo as being mildly self-conscious about her height and weight (I'm pretty short myself, so I know a bit of that feeling), but not being obsessive about her figure, or deathly jealous of Honey Lemon's. She might envy it, but I believe GoGo's comfortable in her own skin- even though she may still worry about what he friends think of her (particularly Tadashi, in my fic). I researched about their heights on , and I googled on average weights of their respective heights, at eighteen-nineteen years old or so. Honey Lemon should be around 56 kg in that case, but I decided to make her lighter because of a diet or so. I may update a little slower these days as I have matters going on, but thank you for reader's support, I'll do my best!


	5. Winter

5.

It's Winter time, it being December and all, and GoGo's bundled up more than enough with a new purple winter coat Honey had gotten her to wear. Not that she would have wanted to don it on in the first place, but it's _Honey_, and, well, GoGo concedes (though she would _never_ admit it) that the only other person who can convince her to do things she would rather not is one of her best friends- Tadashi Hamada. Still, GoGo decides she's actually pretty lucky to escape with only a single coat, when she sees Wasabi clad in two sweaters, a giant fur coat, green mittens and one fuzzy knit hat. She tries to stifle a laugh when she sees Fred dashing away in the opposite direction, with Honey hot on his heels holding onto yet another scarf. Her bubbly female companion is unusually persistent that everyone be dressed warmly enough for their walk in the snowy park- a rare break, and GoGo has to admit that she thinks the role suits Tadashi more. He _is_ the guy trying to invent a nursing robot, after all.

Ignoring the slightly rambunctious scene, GoGo shoves her gloved hands into her coat pockets and trudges away. GoGo doesn't want her friends to find her childish, but she couldn't help being fascinated by the winter wonderland, albeit the said 'wonderland' only being an old park. Still, it's quiet and peaceful, since the people of San Fransyoko rarely ventured towards nature these days, and GoGo hasn't had her fair share of nature for a long time. So, she's perfectly contented craning her neck to observe every inch of the grounds. GoGo's starting to enjoy herself immensely, and she decides she better head back to where her friends are-

Until she trips on a ledge in the middle of the park.

GoGo almost squeals when she's suddenly falling face-first into the snowy ground. She's met by a mound of snow to her face, which, while fluffy, made her want to borrow all of Fred's three scarves (At least, she assumes that Honey has succeeded in wrapping the third one around Fred's scrawny neck.) She's convinced no one has noticed her slip and hurriedly gets to her knees, coughing out snow on the way.

GoGo takes back her claim that no one saw when she finds herself staring at Tadashi's knees.

"Had a little slip?" Tadashi teases. His body is shaking, and for a split second, GoGo wonders if it's from the cold, until she looks up at his face and realises he's shaking from _laughter_.

She grits her teeth in annoyance and feels her face flush red from embarrassment. Of all people, it couldn't be the ever sweet Honey who would have pretended she saw nothing because she knew of GoGo's pride, or the cautious Wasabi who would have pulled her up in worry, or even the laid-back Fred who would already have fallen on his own devices.

GoGo's thrown out of her silent tirade when Tadashi extends his hand and offers it to her. He's still grinning, but his eyes held a gentle gaze. Once more, GoGo felt her face flush, neither from the cold nor the fall this time round. She shakes her head, sighs, and reaches out for Tadashi's hand. As their fingers intertwine, GoGo smiles.

And yanks down at Tadashi's hand with all the force she can muster.

"Woah-" Tadashi's mid-protests are forcibly drowned out when he collides into another pile of snow, face-first, in a similar fashion as to what GoGo had done so before. GoGo laughs and scoffs at how he has fallen for such a simple trick, but elects to wait for Tadashi to extract himself from the ground as she settles into a sitting position and hugs her knees to herself.

"Unbelievable." Tadashi mutters, brushing snow off himself. GoGo grins and extracts a stick of bubblegum from her coat pocket, popping it into her mouth.

"Least we're even now, Hamada."

"Can you _please_ stop using my last name when you're being sarcastic or sassy?"

"I'll stop doing that the same time you stop calling me Ethel when we're alone."

"I actually prefer Leiko. Suits you more-"

"It is _not _a choice, _Hamada-_"

"Again?! Unbelievable!"

"Oh, woman up!"

Their bantering comes to a halt when both of them run out of breath. And when GoGo finally has time to take in her current surroundings, she realises it's freezing cold. And wet. She thinks Tadashi notices her look- he finally laughs and flops back down the snow again.

"Wanna make snow angels-"

"Get real, Hamada."

"- Or," Tadashi pauses with a thoughtful look, "We can go get something warm to drink at Aunt Cass' store nearby. She's starting to sell bubblegum flavored coffee (1). I think it's cos of you,"

GoGo stares at Tadashi pointedly.

"Fine, it's bubblegum flavored coffee _syrup_, but close enough."

"I'll take up that offer over snow angels _any_ day, Tadashi." This time, GoGo gets up of her own accord and so does Tadashi. She doesn't mind, though, because when they share smiles and Tadashi beckons Honey Lemon and the rest to hang out at the cafe for a while, GoGo decides her five seconds of klutziness was worth it.

(It helps, ten minutes later, when they're all crowded at one of the cafe tables and GoGo is holding onto a steaming mug of bubblegum flavored coffee. It's not exactly, bubblegum flavored coffee, she admits, but it's coffee with the said coffee syrup stirred into it, and she's quite satisfied that it's close enough.)

* * *

(1) I actually did google it, but they only displayed bubblegum flavoured coffee syrup, so I amended it. I tried to find out if it could be used to make coffee but it didn't seem so, so I invented the idea of stirring it into the coffee instead.

I've been having a bit of writer's block; so feel free to add it in your review or pm me if you have any tomadashi one-shot ideas, and I'll do my best to make it happen! I still have a few more fluffy chapters up my sleeves though, so no worries. Thank you for reading, and thanks for the support!


	6. Ice Skating

**Author's notes: Based on SorchaRossin's suggestion for ice skating, thank you for your support as well~**

* * *

6.

Ice Skating ranks fourth in GoGo Tomago's list of "Top 5 sports to never try." (The other four are basketball, ice hockey, shot put and line dancing, though the last activity's title as a sport is questionable to GoGo).

Which is why when Honey Lemon (somehow it's _always_ Honey that's indirectly responsible for her scrapes and such) succeeds in securing tickets to go ice skating, GoGo's initial response is a flat-out no. It's only after 48 hours of badgering, bantering, begging and pleading that GoGo finally relents (she gives up when she sees the disappointed tears in Honey's eyes. GoGo swears her soft spot for her only female best friend will be the death of her in the future). Honey's reply is to beam brightly and tell GoGo she'll see her at the San Fransyoko Ice Rink at 2 pm in the afternoon, on the next day, along with Fred, Wasabi and Tadashi. She adds, with a hopeful grin, that if GoGo didn't know how to skate, she could _always _ask Tadashi, who's certain to be kind enough to teach he and hold her hand- Here, GoGo cuts Honey Lemon off by hurling a pillow at her and telling her not to push it.

But even then, GoGo's spent the first twenty minutes in the ice rink gripping the sidelines- she's pretty sure her knuckles are a pasty white under the thick black gloves she's forced to adopt in favor of her original fingerless ones. She hasn't moved an inch since everyone's set out- Honey Lemon and Tadashi prove to be amazing skaters, while Wasabi's too careful and going too slowly. Fred proves himself to be a straight-out klutz on ice.

GoGo took a deep breath. Woman up, she chided herself fiercely; if her four friends could do it, why not her? The memorably painful fall she had as a child of seven was ages ago (ten years, to be exact), and GoGo tries to tell herself that it's different this time round. She's not an enthusiastic child brimming full of eagerness to dominate the ice rink with untold speed anymore (she had a need-for-speed back then even when she was young), she's an adrenaline-junkie who's lost her naive persona, and who's interested _only_ (maybe the word 'only' was an exaggeration, but GoGo believes that extremities were required in quelling her childhood trauma) in speed.

So she steps her right foot out tentatively, and hears it make a small metallic click against the thick wall of ice. Excruciatingly slowly (slow considering it's _GoGo_, anyway), GoGo releases her death grip on the sidelines- which basically proves to be her lifeline. It's alright, she tells herself. It'll be fine. She won't suddenly lose her balance, suddenly feel her feet spread out farther than she intends, suddenly just _slip_ and land backwards on her head and black out-

GoGo steps her left foot out hastily when she realises that her train of supposedly encouraging thoughts are backfiring. It was a mistake; she feels her feet sliding across the ice unintentionally, beyond her control, and her mouth almost peels open to unleash a shriek-

"GoGo!" Tadashi calls out as he reaches forward to grab her arm, pulling GoGo back before she can catapult forward onto the ice. GoGo tries to steady her breathing and heart beat, but her eyes are opened wide and tinged with trauma, and she struggles to calm herself down. Finally, when it seems like the rate of her heartbeat has more or less resembled something normal, GoGo takes one look at the position she's in with Tadashi- leaning into his arms while he stares at her in concern- and it speeds up again. GoGo groans.

"What's wrong?" Tadashi asks, GoGo shoots him an irritable look and wonders how he can dismiss physical contact with such ease, but he _did_ save her from falling, so GoGo ends up mumbling a 'thank you' and resumes her death grip on the metal bar beside her. With her eyes closed, this time round.

"GoGo…?" Tadashi enquires, bending down to seal the height difference between them (which GoGo absolutely despises). "Could it be… You don't know how to skate…?"

Tadashi's words comes as an aggressive reminder to GoGo; her eyelids flicker open so quickly that he flinches. She turns to face him, never letting go of the sidelines even once, and shoots him a glare.

"No," GoGo mutters, which isn't exactly a lie, "I do know how to skate. I just… don't want to."

She's met with raised eyebrows. _This_, coming from a guy who can't quite lie his way out of a paper bag (he blames it on his conscience).

"Unbelievable."

"Believe it or not, Hamada." GoGo snaps back. She's tired, even though they're supposed to be here for two hours (the thought almost makes her want to cry), and GoGo's not interested in explaining herself, even though of all people, Tadashi Hamada should be the one who understands her best. But something deep inside GoGo seems to warn her of the impending judgement 'coward', should she reveal the truth, and the idea of eliciting that word from any of her friends, _especially_ Tadashi, is enough to strengthen her secretive resolve,

"C'mon, GoGo. Something's bothering you, and you know you can tell me." Tadashi insists. GoGo takes one look at his concerned and warm brown eyes. She's ashamed to admit it, but her resolve breaks.

"Fine. When I was seven years old, my mum and dad took me ice skating. It was one of the best times of my life. Wanted to be the fastest kid on ice," GoGo begins (she thinks she hears Tadashi chuckle lightly when she mentions her craving for speed even at a young age, but GoGo chooses to ignore it.)

"But I got too reckless. I skated too fast. One moment I was tearing against the wind, almost like I was flying. Next, my feet give way beneath me and I'm falling backwards. And it's not fun to fall on ice. Particularly at that speed." GoGo winces.

"I almost broke my skull." She ends hollowly, and even though GoGo's determined to mask all her weakness, the childhood trauma of blacking out after her fall and waking up in the sheer and cold hospital room is far too haunting for her to hide.

Tadashi's quiet for a while, and when GoGo steals a glance at him, she sees that he's speechless.

"Wow, GoGo… Never knew you were that traumatised," Tadashi mumbles, still looking stunned. "But then, why did you come here today, if you were that afraid?"

"I thought I could get over it, and besides, Honey went through a lot to get the tickets. She just wants us to have a good time. I can't disappoint her," GoGo answers matter-of-factly. She's vaguely aware of Tadashi's smile softening when she implies the strong bond she has with her only female companion, and rolls her eyes to make up for it.

"You haven't skated ever since that day?" He asks. GoGo manages a wry smile.

"I haven't set foot on ice ever since then," she confirms. "Even if I did know how to skate, I'd probably have forgotten it by now."

"Perfect!" Tadashi beams. GoGo's reply is to stare at him pointedly.

"What?"

"I said perfect, I can teach you then," Tadashi repeats, his eyes alight with excitement. GoGo hesitates at his suggestion. Sure, out of her four friends, Tadashi would probably be the best choice for her to learn from (Honey would be too enthusiastic- which would lead to considerable amount of accidents, GoGo thinks. Wasabi might be a pedantic teacher, too overly consumed by minute details. And Fred was a natural klutz. GoGo doesn't think she needs to learn from him to know how to fall). But it's Tadashi, which would mean _twice_ the self-consciousness, and twice the embarrassment.

But the idea of being freed from her childhood trauma proved too tempting for GoGo. And besides, if there was anyone she trusted would never let her fall (intentionally, anyway), it's Tadashi Hamada.

"Fine." GoGo quips, wishing she has her bubblegum with her now. She'd left it the locker, along with most of her belongings, given how she'd be busy enough trying not to fall, and could much less be chewing at the same time.

"Great! Let's start," Tadashi steps away from GoGo and points in the direction she's facing. "Always try walking first, it'd be rocky for a while, but it helps you get used to the friction of the ice, and get a better sense of balance. Hold on to the wall as you do so, and if it helps-" (GoGo thinks she almost hears Tadashi sniggering, but ignores it in favor of focusing on her current task) "- pretend you are a graceful animal moving through its natural habitat, or a bird flying above the sky (1)."

Now GoGo knows he was sniggering for sure. She snaps her head to her left and glares at Tadashi.

"Hiro liked to think he was a flying robot with wings," Tadashi supplies helpfully.

* * *

"You taught Hiro how to skate before?"

"Yea, back in Japan, we'd skate on the surface of the frozen lakes in Winter." Tadashi's smile becomes more affectionate now. "Hiro always fell- he lost his seventh baby tooth that way."

GoGo doesn't want to admit it, but she thinks the way Tadashi cares so much about his little brother is just the _slightest_ bit endearing. But before her mind can wander off to ramble on the list of "Things she found charming about Tadashi Hamada" (not that she really made a list such as that), GoGo hastily remembers to keep her knees bent slightly and leans forward, mumbling the mantra Tadashi has equipped her with. Well, it's not that much of a mantra as it is on which foot to move and when to move it ("Right. Left. Right. Left.") (2) while she's 'gliding' on ice. GoGo doesn't really find it like gliding, despite the name. She thinks she just looks awkward and clumsy, and she's still trying her best not to fall. Tadashi's taught her on what to do when she falls, which included clenching her fingers into a fist so she doesn't risk losing any fingers to a passing skater (GoGo's pretty sure she looked as horrified as she felt at that news, since it prompts Tadashi to hurriedly assure her that on no accounts would he allow her to fall), but GoGo would rather avoid the falling business altogether.

"I think you got the hang of it," Tadashi remarks. "Now it's time to go faster."

For the first time, the word 'Faster' brings an unpleasant lurch to GoGo's stomach.

"Faster?" GoGo repeats, immediately against the idea. She's barely learnt to glide (a word far too smooth to describe her actions, she thinks) and is still on the verge of clutching at the wall if Tadashi hadn't so insistingly placed himself between her and the railings. This time, GoGo's not all that inclined on speed, and the vulnerability of the situation, that even her speed has deserted her, makes her feel just the slightest bit inadequate (out of her peripheral vision, she already sees Honey, Wasabi and Fred chasing each other around).

"Don't worry, I'll be right by your side," Tadashi's saying in a soothing voice. GoGo's about to suggest that he join Fred and the gang instead, but Tadashi's hand is outstretched, and there's a patient look in his warm brown eyes. GoGo hesitates visibly for a while, turning her body slightly to face him, but when her feet start slipping as she breaks in concentration, GoGo swiftly latches onto Tadashi's outstretched palm, panicking (she thinks Tadashi might have laughed at how panicked she's been ever since the start of this ice skating session, but GoGo's glad to have kept most of her outbursts internal, meaning it only transferred to the biting of lips or tugging of her gloves whenever she's nervous or worried (3) ).

"Let's go," Tadashi glides across the ice fluidly, pulling GoGo along slowly. GoGo tries to calm her breathing when the distance between her and the wall widens, but the feeling of Tadashi's hand in hers is comforting, to say the least. As both of them pick up speed, GoGo feels the pressure on her shoulders lighten slowly, until they're skating rings around the ice rink at a moderately fast pace.

She's skating fast, albeit not at the dangerously quick speeds she's used to, and she's not on the verge of falling. GoGo feels a sense of exhilaration overcome her, and she turns to smile at Tadashi-

But Tadashi's letting go of her hand, and despite her black gloves, she thinks her hand feels surprisingly cold now. Then it hits GoGo. She's skating. On her own.

Her first thought is to panic.

But that'd get her into bigger trouble. GoGo runs through all the instructions Tadashi has given her in a hurry, checking her posture and her position. She's fine for a while, but her feet start sliding apart and GoGo flails about for something to hold onto.

"I'm here, I'm here." Her hand is grabbed by Tadashi Hamada again, and he whispers another set of instructions- this time, to get her to stop. GoGo obediently bends her knees slightly inward and pushes off with both of her feet, even though she feels numb and her feet are just the slightest bit damp now. They come to a complete halt as they reach the railings by the edge of the ice rink again.

"Are you alright, GoGo? I'm sorry, I wanted you to try it on your own or you'd become too dependent-" GoGo socks him in the arm. Hard.

"Ow!"

"Woman up! And don't you ever try that again, without warning!" GoGo snarls.

"And I thought you were an adrenaline-junkie…" Tadashi mutters

"Sometimes there's a difference between adrenaline rush and thinking you're going to die." GoGo pauses for a few minutes, trying to regulate her breathing again and process her thoughts. Tadashi stands by her side, taking a breather, and feeling just the slightest bit guilty about the act he's pulled.

"… How'd Hiro do when you tried that on him?"

"Freaked out completely. He nearly rammed into a tree if I hadn't pulled him back."

* * *

"Say 'Ice skating'!" Honey Lemon chirps as she pulls out her phone and snaps a picture of the five of them. They're huddled near the entrance of the ice rink, minutes before their time runs out, and Honey Lemon has called upon the decision to end their day with a photo. GoGo rolls her eyes and inches forward slowly, but Tadashi grabs her hand and pulls her in at the last minute, so that her face in the picture is mildly surprised, yet with a hint of a smile on her face. She socks him in the arm again, but he grins it off and says it's worth it.

In the photo, the five of them are smiling, despite their numb legs and fatigue. But when Honey Lemon zooms in on it a little, she tells GoGo that she swears she sees Tadashi and her with their hands held together. GoGo gives an indifferent grunt to the news.

Honey giggles at GoGo's change in reaction when she flicks to the next photo and sees a vaguely blurry photo of her skating with Tadashi, hand in hand. They have a mini scuffle over the phone, either to delete the photo (GoGo) or save it (Honey). GoGo wins after three minutes, but she's too exhausted to do much and ends up giving Honey Lemon her phone back after a victorious punch into the air. (4)

Honey Lemon scrolls through her gallery in dismay, mourning slightly over the missing photo. GoGo decides not to tell Honey that she had sent it to her own phone before hitting the delete button.

(In the photo, she realises they're smiling at each other. And she decides Ice Skating isn't that bad after all.)

* * *

(1) and (2)- I got most of the ice skating tutorial info from wikihow. I've only been to ice skating once, and it's been around two months ago so I can't quite remember how my friends taught me, except for the "Right. Left. Right. Left." 'mantra', which really helped, for my case anyway.

(3)- Since GoGo's quite scarred by nearly dying because of her fall when she was young, I wrote her to be notably traumatised and panicky in this scenario. But since GoGo really panicking and being worried is quite OOC for her, it's shown that she's kept most of her outbursts internal, meaning that if she's surprised or so, she usually just widens her eyes and such. It's slightly hinted, or can be interpreted that she chooses to do so because she doesn't want to be deemed a coward for being scared.

(4)- I tend to trail off to a bit of humor when I end my chapters, influenced by some books I've read before. What do you guys think? If it's decidedly _not_ humorous, I'll do my best to lessen it.

I tried incorporating most of my experience as a beginner when I first ice skated (it was 70% panicking, when I think about it), so the story would be understandable and well-written (because writing with emotions and experiences makes the story more realistic in my eyes). Hiro and Tadashi skating together when they were young came as a cool addition to me, since the brothers are really close. I ended my Ice skating trip with a photo, so it seemed appropriate Honey Lemon would do so too (though the GoGo and Tadashi photo was a sudden spark). Thank you for the wonderful reviews, readers, and for the impressive suggestions as well. It gave me a lot of inspiration and I'll do my best to continue. This chapter took a lot more work than I originally perceived but it was worth it in the end. Hope readers enjoyed!


	7. First meeting

**Author's notes: Inspired by the prompt- "We are the only two people who turn up at the wrong room for a lecture but we have no idea where it's held at." Because I haven't been updating, I've decided to squeeze two chapters in a day. Hope readers enjoy, and thank you for the wonderful reviews! **

* * *

7.

The first time GoGo meets Tadashi Hamada, they both turn up at the wrong venue for a lecture.

He walks into the classroom just in time to see her slouched against the wall, arms crossed, chewing gum, blowing bubbles after every five chews and seething with frustration. It's been twenty minutes and no one has made an appearance. GoGo stares ahead of her fixedly, too grumpy to notice the student that walks in. It's her first day in San Fransyoko Institute of Technology, and GoGo is neither interested nor willing to "make friends" like her stepmother has instructed. Coupled along with her lack of sleep, and the fact that the student's staring at her like he's never seen someone with a purple streak in her hair before, GoGo decides that yes, she's in a very bad mood.

"How long have you been standing there?" The student decides to be the first to break the silence. GoGo eyes him contemplatively for a while before sighing.

"Twenty minutes."

"I see."

An awkward silence fills the air, but GoGo's never been one for socialising. She's pretty used to people treating her as if she's a contagious disease or a dangerous animal ready to strike, so it doesn't really bother her when the student regards her with a slightly perplexed look.

"Has it.. Has it ever occurred to you that we might be in the wrong classroom?"

"…"

GoGo swears the silence that follows is a lot more excruciating than the any other she has withstood. But even as she tries to come up with a fathomable answer that would not reveal her ignorance, she suddenly finds the said student standing in front of her. He's bending down (GoGo feels somewhat irked at the vast height difference between them), and she finally takes a proper look of him. He's wearing a black baseball cap with a red-and-gold San Fransokyo Ninja lettering on it, under a mass of tousled hair, and he has the warmest brown eyes that GoGo has ever seen. GoGo's about to comment on his lacking perception of personal space, but the student cuts her off before she so much as opens her mouth.

"Looks like we're both in the wrong venue for Professor Callaghan's lecture, so we might as well look for the right classroom together," He suggests brightly

GoGo doesn't quite know how she's gotten dragged into this, but the student marches out without looking back and, seeing as she's as good as lost if she were to stay, GoGo ends up following.

* * *

The student's name is Tadashi Hamada, and he's the smiliest person GoGo has met by far.

She doesn't mean it in a complimentary way- the way he seems to _always_ smile already acts as a foil to GoGo's stoic self. But there _is_ something relieving in having company while searching for the right lecture hall; GoGo's pretty sure she would have ended up everywhere but at the venue if she were to venture off on her own.

"What's your name?"

"Leiko Tanaka. Call me Ethel." GoGo almost chuckles at the surprised expression on Tadashi's face, but keeps her amusement at bay. She's almost enjoying his bemused expression, but given how he's been relatively helpful so far, she sighs and delivers a brief explanation.

"I got renamed when my Dad moved here from Japan." She grunts in a bored manner. No need to tell him more than he needed to know- which included being mother-less for a brief period of time after her parents had called for a divorce, a situation she would have decidedly preferred over having her name forcefully changed from Leiko Tanaka to Ethel when her Western-styled stepmother came into the picture.

"I see," Tadashi replies. They trail off into silence, but GoGo thinks it's strangely not as awkward as it was before.

* * *

Every time they go into a wrong classroom (she knows it's the wrong classroom because they're either empty or dotted with lingering students discussing about their projects), Tadashi somehow manages to come up with random questions that annoy her.

"What's your favorite color?" (Purple, she'd answered in a bored tone.)

"How old are you?" (Seventeen, she prepares to punch him should he comment that she was shorter than a seventeen year old girl should be.)

"Why do you keep chewing gum?" (It occupies me, she grunts)

"What's with the purple streak in your hair?" (First of all, it's _violet_. And told you purple was my favorite color, she replies grumpily.)

Finally, at the fifteenth question (Yes they've been to fifteen wrong classrooms and GoGo's ready to believe she's hopelessly lost), GoGo snaps and glares at the taller teen.

"Why," GoGo pops a pink bubble pointedly. "Do you have so many questions?"

"Because I want to know more about you." Tadashi says it simply, like it's a straightforward fact and nothing more, but GoGo can't help thinking it's the first time anyone in school has been interested in her as a _person_, not a potential piece of gossip. And a part of her feels just a slightest bit wanted.

It doesn't stop her from punching his arm, of course.

* * *

"Are you hungry yet?" Tadashi asks. They've been scouring the first few levels of the institute, and _none_ of them turned out to be the venue for that damned lecture. GoGo wishes she's paid more attention when the details regarding Professor Callaghan's talk were read out, instead of being more interested in blowing and popping her bubblegum (She defends herself by saying Tadashi's no better- He had fallen asleep after bailing his younger brother- Hiro, she thinks his name was, from a botfight).

For a while, she wants to say no and continue looking for the lecture, but breakfast's only been half a sandwich (cos she can't seem to work out an appetite early in the morning) and a piece of gum (which she's still chewing on), and after so long, she's pretty sure it's almost over anyway. Besides, it's almost lunchtime now, and GoGo ends up mumbling a reluctant yes.

"Great, I'll lead you to the cafeteria," Tadashi offers, already heading in another the direction. When they reach, the plsce is already generously dotted with students, none of which GoGo recognises. But it's not crowded yet, and she's pretty relieved because GoGo doesn't like mingling in crowds, despite the fact that Tadashi seems like a sociable Mr. Popularity who probably had many friends (1). He's so damn _nice_ after all, and it doesn't hurt that he's rather good-looking to- GoGo blinks and pushes that thought away. She spits out her gum into its wrapper, bracing herself for whichever huge crowd her 'tour guide' was probably going to lead her to.

Instead, he leads her to a table with two people- a scrawny man wearing baggy clothes, and a tall hulking guy with dreadlocks, whom he immediately greets (2).

"Fred, I thought you had mascot duties?" He asks the man with baggy clothes- whom GoGo takes to be Fred.

"Nah, I got released early," Fred replies gleefully. GoGo stands behind Tadashi quietly, feeling somewhat intrusive.

"Oh yea, this is Leiko Tanaka. Call her Ethel." Tadashi pulls GoGo forward as he introduces her to the group, and she's just the smallest bit amused that he's echoed her way of introducing her name. She shrugs off the "Hi"s and "How do you do"s and hurries away to get her lunch before her lack of social ability becomes all to evident.

When she returns to the table with a small plate of tamagoyaki (it's her favourite food after all), Tadashi's seated down and the three of them are deep in conversation. For a while, GoGo makes to move away to another empty table, but Tadashi catches sight of her and waves her towards the vacant seat beside him. She hesitates, but supposes that she should actually experience eating lunch with others so that her dad wouldn't make a fuss about her aloofness again. GoGo slips into the seat and starts to devour her food hungrily. She's formally introduced to Fred and Wasabi, (It was just _one_ time, the latter groans, when GoGo raises her eyebrows at his introduction) who apparently got his name from the unfortunate namesake stain on his shirt.

"You sure look like a biker," Wasabi comments, in an almost cautious tone. GoGo shoots him a look, trying to search for signs of mockery, but he merely seems curious- albeit a little scared too.

"Yea." Given how uncomfortable he looks, she decides to elaborate. "I'm an adrenaline junkie."

"Cool," Fred pipes up, his eyes alight. GoGo rolls her eyes and continues with a meal silently, until Fred's exclamations almost make her choke.

"I KNOW, let's call her GoGo! Y'know, _Go-go_? For her need for speed and all that?" He shouts in triumph. "GoGo-" Fred's eyes land on the plate of tamagoyaki she's holding (GoGo regrets the purchase of her favorite food now). "Tomago! GoGo Tomago!"

"What. Is that ridiculous name even for?!" GoGo seethes through gritted teeth. "And it's Tamago, not Tomago!"

"Are you saying you want to be named after an egg?" Tadashi puts in.

"No!" GoGo glares at him with a you're-not-helping look. Tadashi simply smiles it off and raises his drink, as if he was wishing her good luck in changing Fred's mind.

She argues with them for fifteen minutes, but it's too late. She's stuck with the dumbest nickname of GoGo Tomago (even though it's not the worst name she's ever been called) and she doubts it's ever going to change.

She tries to avoid the thought that the name 'GoGo' has a certain _ring_ to it.

* * *

It's her first day of school, so at night, her dad calls her and asks (rather stiffly at that) "How was school?"

GoGo thinks back on the day's events- Meeting a perky-but-actually-kinda-cute guy, wandering around the institute and getting lost, finding out from Wasabi that Professor Callaghan actually cancelled his lecture due to some 'family matters', (meaning that she spent close to two hours trying to find his classroom for _no_ _reason_), and the stupid nickname she's somehow acquired.

"It wasn't bad." She grunts, and she wonders if he can hear the smile in her voice.

* * *

I sincerely apologise if you find the ending abrupt (again), but I did want to show that GoGo's actually enjoyed the day because she's rarely had friends due to her cold exterior.

(1)- I think GoGo originally expected Tadashi to be extremely popular with a crowd of friends, instead of being close to only a few of them that might even be considered misfits.

(2)- I didn't include Honey Lemon because in Chapter 2, I wrote that Honey Lemon got her nickname from Iced Honey Lemon cookies she baked, and since that means she won't have a nickname when GoGo first meets her, she would have to be introduced by her real name which I have no idea about. My junior later told me Honey apparently got her nickname from her favourite TV show (Oops.)


	8. Rain

**Author's notes: I typed this out at 3 am in last night on my phone, and I hoped you guys enjoy it as I haven't had much time or writing inspiration to update frequently. Merry Christmas to my dear readers too, and Happy New Year!**

* * *

8.

GoGo Tomago hates the rain.

She doesn't mind it that much when she's in a building, staring at it from the other side of the window. She doesn't mind it that much when she's tearing down the street on her motorbike, and the raindrops fall harmlessly on her (she can't feel it much anyway, with her helmet and leather jacket on). She doesn't mind it that much even when she's running down the street while it's raining, without an umbrella (even though the occasional cold and flu that follow aren't that welcome.)

She minds it very much, though, when it's raining heavily- the sky thick with a sea of grey, and she's stranded at an empty bus stop with a set of very important blueprints in her hands (1). GoGo's spent two weeks on it, stayed up to 3 am noting down and finalising everything, and it's deemed too valuable to leave behind in the lab.

She regrets that move now, because she has neither an umbrella nor a bag and she's not risking running through the rain to get home, even if it's only a ten minute walk from here. It's too far to go back to the lab, and GoGo decides she's well and truly stuck. She sighs and shivers, resolving she really needs to get a leather jacket that defended her from the cold (2).

"GoGo?" GoGo looks up in surprise when her name is called. The bus stops' been empty for the whole time she's stayed there, and the last bus had left long ago. Yet someone's calling her name, and while her first instinct is to punch whoever's doing so, closer inspection of the tall figure holding an umbrella above her tells GoGo it's Tadashi Hamada.

"Tadashi?" She echoes back incredulously. Today's been one of her latest nights at the lab, and everyone had went home hours ago- Tadashi being the second latest. Again. She certainly doesn't expect to see him in front of her now (It's almost _4_ in the morning).

"What are you doing here?"

"You gave your bag to Honey Lemon, so I assume you didn't have your umbrella with you. And since it's raining now, I thought you might have been stranded or something."

"I could have stayed at the institute," GoGo points out.

"You'd be too tempted by your bed-" She glares at him. "Besides, you know you'd get into trouble if Honey Lemon comes in early and finds out you didn't get home."

It's true (her earlier experiences of tricking Honey into believing she went home earlier than she actually did hadn't boded well for GoGo. She knows Honey cares for her health, but there was just _some_ work she simply couldn't leave lying around undone), GoGo has to give Tadashi that, and it makes her think that sometimes, her best friend knows her better than she knows herself

"I remembered you told Honey Lemon to bring back your bag for you because you were leaving the lab in an hour, disregarding the fact that your phone and umbrella were in there." He raises his eyebrows. "And that it was troublesome to carry it back while you were lugging all your _equipment_ home."

GoGo rolls her eyes, knowing that he's aware she never intended to leave in merely an hour, and that depositing her bag in Honey Lemon's hands (along with the lie that she would be bringing her equipment back home) was to convince the latter to leave earlier so that she could avoid her chiding for staying up so late (She definitely hadn't expected such a heavy rain, and she decides maybe it's karma).

"Was the only way to get her to leave earlier, (3)" GoGo grunts. "Never knew I was going to stay so late anyway. Should have just slept in the lab or something, but the idea of a warm bed _was_ too tempting-" She yawns.

"I'll walk you home then," Tadashi offers, smiling despite the faint shadows under his eyes.

GoGo stays quiet for a while. She doesn't particularly want to, because recently, it's been weird being around her best friend- heck, she doesn't even know if they're still friends or not. Tadashi's been just the _slightest_ bit more than a friend to her (Honey Lemon keeps telling her that they're "practically dating"), yet he's never acknowledged or showed signs that he's anything _more_ than that.

She thinks having him walk her home in the rain is going to make her head explode from thinking too much, but she's been stranded for close to an hour, and GoGo's too tired to find an alternative. She ends up sighing tiredly and walking beside the tall Hamada after handing him her neatly folded blueprints, since his inner cardigan pocket would be a much safer place compared to her leather-gloved hands (4).

It's not as bad as she thinks. Tadashi makes small talk and congratulates her on the compilation of her carefully written blueprints (she's finally put all her quick scribbles (5) on random pieces of scrap paper together, which is a lot harder than it sounds). GoGo answers and nods and talks and she thinks maybe, it's better this way, after all- Staying friends, nothing more.

She ignores the slight sting in her heart at the idea, that all the moments that he made so special are nothing in the end- that she's read too much into it (God, she's as dramatic as Honey Lemon (6) ). Or that maybe Tadashi simply got tired of her and just wants to be friends now. Or that he might even (GoGo's heart twists painfully for some reason) be interested in someone else now- if he was ever interested in her in the first place.

"-go? GoGo?" Suddenly, Tadashi's calling her name and his hand is on one of her shoulders. They're already at the front door of her apartment, and she vaguely wonders how long they've been standing there. GoGo snaps out of her trance and flinches slightly at his touch. She pushes his hand away hastily, trying to cover up for her lapse.

GoGo thinks she sees a flash of hurt in Tadashi's eyes when she removes his hand roughly. Yet it's gone in an instant and replaced with something else. GoGo can't quite put her finger on it, but when Tadashi starts speaking really fast about the next day's plans, and his eyes flit about distractedly, the answer strikes her like a lightning bolt.

He's nervous.

GoGo's about to ask why the hell is Tadashi Hamada nervous because he's one of the calmest people she knows (except when he's ranting or worrying about his younger brother), until the former gives a big sigh and looks at her. GoGo averts his gaze, because she's starting to get uncomfortable and deep down, some part of her heart wonders if he's going to tell her she never meant anything more than a friend to him.

"There's something in your hair."

"... What?" At his words, GoGo runs her fingers through her short ruffled hair in irritation. She thinks that Tadashi _definitely_ needs lessons on getting to his points faster (After all, if he wants to break her heart, he should hurry up about it so she can pick up its fragmented pieces quicker and move on with her life).

"Look up," He orders softly. GoGo sighs as she does so and stares at his face, permitting him to remove whatever's stuck in her hair.

Then Tadashi kisses her.

GoGo almost forgets to breathe because _wasn't_ he going to tell her he wasn't interested in her and what about the _thing_ in her hair- (7) but it doesn't really matter, and she starts kissing back. When they finally break apart (She needs air), there's a tentatively awkward note in the air as they stare at each other silently. GoGo realises Tadashi looks a little out of breath too.

She says the first thing that comes to her mind-

"You taste of donuts."

And regrets it the moment it leaves her mouth. GoGo cringes inwardly and waits for Tadashi to laugh.

"Must be the midnight snack I got before I snuck out of the Lucky Cat Cafe (8)," Tadashi mumbles sheepishly. GoGo's glad that he hadn't poked fun at her observation, in fact, he actually looks pretty embarassed, and GoGo's heart suddenly skips a beat, because she never knew Tadashi could look _even_ cuter when he's blushing- She blinks and frantically tries to erase that thought (For some reason, it's never occured to her that the tall asian would be as uncertain as her about all of this).

"Tadashi, does that-" GoGo pauses almost uncertainly, and she _hates_ it because she's putting her happiness into someone else's hands and that someone else can crush it and bend it to his very will and it leaves her so _vulnerable_-

"Does that mean we're _dating_?"

Tadashi blinks.

"You mean we weren't dating before?"

* * *

I made GoGo look up because there were too many tall characters bending down to kiss their love interests (I have no idea if it makes sense or not). I wrote the title as 'Umbrella' instead of 'Dating' or even 'First kiss' since I wanted to surprise readers (I know some or even most of you probably already guessed but if you didn't, hey, it worked!) Initially, I wanted to end it with "Definitely." or something, and for Tadashi to be surprised at GoGo's question, but I got a sudden stroke of inspiration and decided to include a more humorous ending.

(1)- Originally I meant it to be an important test paper or something, but an inspiration from the amazing author fairytalelights led me to amend it to blueprints instead.

(2)- Mild reference to the first chapter.

(3)- I think GoGo wouldn't have wanted Honey Lemon to stay up late just for her, so she often tries to convince her not to wait.

(4)- I included this cos I realised GoGo would still be holding on to them when they were kissing and that'd be a little awkward (and she might have dropped them out of surprise, which isn't going to score Tadashi any points).

(5)- GoGo looks like someone who would live with quick scribbles until she straightened everything out, because, well, I think her need for speed makes her a little impatient sometimes.

(6)- Honey Lemon does seem like someone who would gush and fangirl over romantic moments, and GoGo thinks maybe she acted like her and read too much into the situations (she didn't, of course).

(7)- She doesn't quite realise it was an excuse then (I put this in just in case some readers got confused).

(8)- Tadashi snuck out of the Lucky Cat Cafe because he was worried that GoGo would be stranded and well, that act wasn't really planned. That also partially explains the faint shadows under his eyes that GoGo notices earlier because he was worried about her and couldn't sleep well until he finally gave it up and decided to check the Institute.


	9. Movie Nights

**Author's notes: This inspiration came from something that cropped up in one of my prefect meetings. It was quite sudden but really enjoyable writing this; I hope readers enjoy. Even though I don't have much leisure time to write nowadays, I always have the support of my readers to push me on. Thank you once again for all the wonderful reviews, favourites and follows given by my readers. I'm sorry this is not too long, but rest assured, a new chapter will be coming up soon after this! (Hint: Birthday Gift) **

* * *

9.

Saturday nights are movie nights for the Nerd Lab. At least, that's what Honey Lemon says, even though they tend to alternate weeks depending on their current workload - which has been piling up a month ago. The newly added project has led to the sacrificing of movie night for six weeks now, and GoGo's pretty glad that the pattern is back on track, since everything has been wrapped up yesterday. No thanks to Fred and Wasabi, who were too lazy and uptight respectively to give much help.

GoGo's never said it, but she has to admit that she misses movie nights. It's fun, no matter how irritating Fred can become or how loud Honey Lemon can fangirl, and it's a time of relaxation for the Nerd Lab's occupants to enjoy and laugh their worries off - worries including the electromagnetic wheels she's currently working on. It's speed and control needed _a_ _lot_ of tweaking-

"GoGo, no thinking about work!" Honey Lemon chides firmly. GoGo grunts in reply, but the small upperward curve of her lips shows her assent towards Honey Lemon's words. It is not like she wants to spend any of her leisure time on something likely to result in another headache, after all.

She walks over to 'her spot' on the couch - situated two seats away from the wall because it has a decent view of the television screen and is distant enough from Fred's seat to avoid his annoying habit of quoting the next line (particularly if they were watching a superhero movie) and giving spoilers (_especially_ if they were watching a superhero movie. It spoilt Iron Man 3 for her.)

But it's already occupied. By _Tadashi_.

GoGo frowns, half-confused and half-irritated. That's her seat ever since movie night became a tradition, and she more or less expects Tadashi to know it.

"Movie it, Hamada!" She snaps. "That's my spot."

"But that new potted plant Honey bought means I can't seat on the floor beside the sofa." Tadashi protests. Nevertheless, he still makes an effort to create some space for GoGo. The latter taps her foot impatiently - arms crossed, popping her bubblegum - as Tadashi nudges Wasabi with his elbow to try to get him to move. It evidently doesn't work, GoGo quips silently, because after some shuffling, what's left of her spot is merely an empty space barely five centimeters wide. Tadashi notices what she's glaring at and pauses.

"You can sit on my lap instead." He offers.

GoGo gapes at him. Tadashi stares back.

"..._Oh_." He blinks slowly, only belatedly realising the weight of his words.

Then GoGo explodes

"What- _No_! You- You IDIOT! You can't just say something like _that_! I -" She stops abruptly when she realises Honey Lemon, Wasabi and Fred are staring at them.

"_Urgh_!" GoGo slams her foot on Tadashi's ("_Ow_!" He yelps) and stalks out of the room in a flustered haze.

* * *

She comes back a few minutes later with a bowl of popcorn, and quite conveniently, the seat beside Tadashi is empty. Wasabi has elected to sit on the floor (After cleaning it, of course, he confirms. GoGo just rolls her eyes.) because he takes up too much space on the couch. GoGo doesn't say anything about having to sit next to Tadashi. She just spits out her gum (She had to after receiving multiple complains that her gum popping disrupts the movie) and thins her lips. She moves over to the vacant seat and settles down, passing some popcorn to Honey Lemon. It takes a few minutes, but eventually, her body relaxes, she forgets about the awkward words that Tadashi has spouted earlier, and she starts to immerse herself in the movie (It's Fast and Furious 6) (1).

"Y'know, I didn't mean it like _that_ when I said you could sit on my lap," Tadashi mumbles softly as he reaches for some popcorn. His words are soft enough for only GoGo to hear, even though Honey Lemon is craning her neck slightly to observe the exchange. GoGo grunts, because part of her already knows Tadashi Hamada isn't ever going to be interested in her _that_ way-

"But I wouldn't really mind if you _did_ do it anyway-"

GoGo slams the popcorn bowl as hard as she can against Tadashi ("_Ow_.") in an effort to make him stop talking ("_Unbelievable_."). It works, and even though they're getting to the scene where the car is speeding through the streets like there's no tomorrow (which is the way she likes it), GoGo is pretty sure her face is red for the entirety of the movie, and that Tadashi is smiling.

* * *

(1) - GoGo seems like someone who'd enjoy racing movies.


	10. Hair

**Author's notes: This was originally intended to be a drabble, inspired by a fanfic I read. But since it was too short, I extended it a little. Unfortunately it took on a darker tone from there. I'm not really pleased with how this turned out :/ I hope GoGo and Tadashi aren't too OOC in this; Do give feedback, and if this chapter is really badly written or perceived, I'll take it down and replace it. Thanks for sticking with me for so long, readers!**

* * *

"You really should tie your hair up, GoGo." The words are addressed at evening time after lessons, to an exhausted and irritable GoGo Tomago in the Nerd Lab.

She glares at the speaker. "Shut it, Hamada. My hair's fine this way." To prove her point, GoGo sweeps her fringe away from her face casually. It doesn't work as well as she hopes - Her hair is plastered to her face, sweaty and limp after a day of lectures and gym. Admittedly, it has been some time since her last hair cut, and to emphasise that fact, her usually short and unkempt hair has somehow managed to graze her shoulders.

Tadashi's hand is already outstretched, an extra towel dangling casually from his fingers. Part of GoGo wonders if he has brought one on purpose, seeing as she has forgotten to bring hers. Tuesday's schedule_ definitely_ required a towel in light of the day's strenuous gym class. But she has been up late the previous night (again) in order to work on the blueprints to her bike, and it has ended up slipping her mind. Her best friend certainly knows her well enough to foresee her actions - or maybe it was a mere coincidence, GoGo thinks. Sleeping at three in the morning did wonders to your memory and brain, she grouses. It certainly did made her over-think too much.

GoGo grabs the towel - careful not to let their fingers touch - and proceeds to dry her hair aggressively in response to Tadashi's calm but knowing smile.

Honey Lemon, Wasabi and Fred have left a while ago to dine at a nearby cafe. Not in the mood or energy for dinner, GoGo has excused herself, and Tadashi has opted to decline as well ("I need to check on my little brother"). However, he does not seem in much of a hurry to leave now.

"Aren't you going to check on your little brother?" Her voice is tinged with sarcasm. For just as Tadashi is her best friend, the bond goes both ways - GoGo's been friends with Tadashi long enough to know that his earlier excuse was most probably a lie, and that his younger brother wasn't in any danger that should warrant his immediate attention. If that had been the case, Tadashi would have been out of the door and on his moped ages ago.

"He'll live," Tadashi answers breezily, though the thought of Hiro does seem to sober him up a little. GoGo gives an indifferent grunt ("Suit yourself.") and drapes the towel around her neck, taking a seat on the empty chair next to her. She tries to ignore Tadashi's contemplative stare before he disappears out of his lab. He may have been staring into space, considering how to get Baymax to work (Or, at the very least, stop short-circuiting and setting his clothes on fire), for all GoGo knew. And these are the times when she thinks she doesn't really know her best friend (He's just a friend, she tells herself) that well, after all (Her brain is doing that over-thinking thing _again_, she groans in her mind).

Her thoughts are cut off when she feels Tadashi's hands on her shoulders. GoGo's first instinct is to swing her right elbow back and jam it into his ribs, but Tadashi seems to have more or less predicted her train of thought, because he edges back slightly.

"Relax," He soothes hastily. "I'm just trying to tie your hair."

It's somewhat uncomfortable, GoGo thinks, her body snapped out of its casual slouch as she straightens her back in the seat instinctively. She fidgets restlessly, her shoulders still tensed under the warmth of Tadashi's fingers. On the other hand, Tadashi himself does not seem as bothered, though it is not like she can tell from her current position.

"How'd you get a hair tie in the first place?"

"Honey Lemon left it on her table." It's strange, given how her closest and sole female friend has never found a use for hair ties despite the length of her hair. GoGo narrows her eyes contemplatively and mulls over delving a little deeper into the matter later.

"Where'd you learn how to tie hair, then?"

"Mother taught me when I was young. It was before Hiro was even born." His voice softens. "I think a small part of her was disappointed that I wasn't a daughter, so I learnt it to please her. She let me tie her hair after I got it right." Here, Tadashi gives a sheepish laugh. "It took her half an hour to remove it when it was time for bed. But she still kept it on for the rest of the day before that." There is a distinct pause, and Tadashi's hands stop moving. GoGo remains quiet.

"When I look back, I don't think I made a very great son to her after all."

GoGo doesn't quite know what to say to that, but she does know the feeling of missing one's mother. She remembers a time when she had a happy family, with a house deserving of the name 'home', and a mother who always taught her something new everyday. She also remembers how all of that has faded over time, how the marriage has strained and failed to work in the end, how goodbyes were said, and empty promises made, and how she has never seen her mother save the occasional letter afterwards.

Tadashi snaps her out of her reverie by saying, "I'm sorry for going off like that. You alright, GoGo?" His concern makes her flinch at her momentary weakness, and she hurriedly emerges from her chair. Her neck feels pleasantly cool now - her strands of hair suspended by the purple hair tie Tadashi has borrowed from Honey Lemon.

GoGo pats her short ponytail tentatively, unused to it. It is a simple hairstyle that should not have taken so long, but as her fingers graze across water droplets when she combs them through her hair, she thinks it was ultimately a reasonable amount of time.

"Hey, Tadashi." Tadashi is preparing to leave as he gathers his notes and stuffs them into his bag. At the mention of his name, he turns towards GoGo curiously.

"I... Thank you. You did a good job..." GoGo clears her throat, feeling slightly awkward. "The point is, you're a great brother and a great friend. And I bet you were a great son too." GoGo gives a small smile, an unusual break from her stoic mask. "That's why I'm sure your mother was really proud of you."

Tadashi replies by staring at her quietly for a few seconds, until she is starting to fluster under his gaze. Then his face breaks into the softest smile GoGo has ever seen (and that's something, coming from him) and he just _brightens_.

"Thanks, Leiko." Hearing him use her original given name - the one her birth mother of Japanese descent has given her, takes her breath away for some reason.

"You should tie your hair more often. You look pretty." The momentary spell is broken by his words and GoGo glares at Tadashi, stomps on his foot as she stalks past him, and proceeds to locate the nearest barber on her motorbike.

She hopes he doesn't see the smile on her face when she leaves.


	11. Help

**Author's notes: This was inspired by a birthday gift I made for a friend who liked roses, and semi-inspired by Coogg's suggestion for the theme 'Help'. Sry for delaying it for so long! As I have little to no knowledge about flowers, nearly all of the facts mentioned here are derived from the internet ( .net and love/Meaning-Roses-What-Number-Roses-Means-14080476). Thus, I apologise for any mistakes or inconsistencies. Also, I've reread my previous chapter and found quite a few mistakes and will be amending them ASAP. I hope I haven't deviated too far from my usual writing style in this chapter and that readers will not find it too draggy and boring. My exams are next week, so I won't be updating for some time - Hope readers enjoy this chapter, and please read and review. Thank you!**

* * *

"GoGo, I need your help." Tadashi gazes into his companion's eyes almost imploringly. GoGo Tomago hesitates. It's not like she can say no when he does something like that - stare at her with his warm brown eyes until she caves.

"What?" She answers shortly, though deep down inside she can feel worry tugging at her gut. Did Tadashi lose his blueprints for Baymax's latest prototype? Was his brother in trouble again? Did-

"It's Aunt Cass' birthday next week," Tadashi groans. "And I have no idea what to get her."

GoGo pauses.

"Y'know, judging from your tone, I was expecting something more... serious and lethal." She drawls, more annoyed at herself than at Tadashi for being anxious over nothing.

"It _is_ something serious. Aunt Cass took us in when we were kids - I have to repay her properly after all she's gone through to raise us." Tadashi insists.

Well, when he puts it that way, GoGo feels guilty. But what does she know about birthdays that would warrant advice for Tadashi? She hesitates slightly.

"Why are you asking me though? I'm pretty sure gifts are more of Honey Lemon's forte." Tadashi considers her point for a while and GoGo stares at him expectantly.

"Well," Tadashi tilts his head to the side contemplatively. "I think I like your help better."

GoGo flushes and socks him in the arm.

"Fine."

* * *

"What stuff does Aunt Cass like to do? Her hobbies, etc." GoGo questions with a blank look. They are situated in Tadashi's lab, GoGo seated on his desk - arms crossed, as usual - and Tadashi on his chair, a notebook and pencil in his hand.

"Well..." Tadashi mulls over it slowly, tucking the pencil behind his ear and raising his left hand (1). "She likes cats, hence why she adopted Mochi." He ticks off one finger. "Donuts, even though she complains it makes her fat." Another finger. "And her nephews - Hiro and I." He raises a third finger.

"That's not a lot to go on," GoGo points out flatly. Tadashi seems to realise it too, however belatedly. He frowns and furrows his eyebrows again, racking his brains for more of Aunt Cass' personal preferences. GoGo has to stifle a chuckle at how seriously he's treating the matter. It's almost cute- She shakes her head and refuses to finish that thought.

"Oh yeah, Aunt Cass really likes roses!" Tadashi suddenly bursts out in triumph. GoGo rolls her eyes. If he had known that, why hadn't Tadashi bought her a bouquet of roses straight away? It would have saved a lot of time (Not that she actually minded having to help the tall Hamada, though). But almost immediately afterwards, Tadashi's shoulders slump. GoGo shoots him a questioning look.

"Except," Tadashi rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "She's allergic to flowers." GoGo chuckles this time round, and it's Tadashi's turn to eye her in surprise.

"A little ironic, don't you think?" She comments in defense. Tadashi offers her a grin to show his agreement and GoGo feels her guard drop. She relaxes. However, it soon becomes evident that there were no more potential gifts for Aunt Cass, save the first four things Tadashi has mentioned - in which technically, Hiro and Tadashi could not be counted.

"Hiro's probably going to go to Aunt Cass and say 'I know you love me very much so I'm your present for the day. Happy Birthday!'" Tadashi rolls his eyes.

"Were you thinking of tying a ribbon around yourself too and saying the same thing?"

"Maybe."

It takes another half an hour of brainstorming, until GoGo gets to her feet and brushes herself off nonchalantly. Tadashi gives her a curious look, and GoGo returns his gaze with raised eyebrows.

"I've got an idea." She affirms. "We can do origami roses."

It takes a minute for the words to sink in Tadashi.

"Origami roses? You mean, like paper roses?" Tadashi repeats in dismay. "I'm horrible at handicrafts!"

"I know." GoGo's seen Tadashi's efforts at any craftwork or hands-on project that did not involve engineering and scientific stuff, and they have been pathetic. "That's why I'm here to help you."

Tadashi hesitates slightly but ends up grinning anyway.

* * *

"First, we decide on the colour. Pink roses should do it, since they are usually given to show thankfulness, admiration, and happiness in general. Deep pink is used for appreciation and gratitude while light pink is for admiration and sympathy. Peach roses are given to show modesty."

"What about red ones?"

"They say 'I love you'. They're usually sent to your significant other."

"Orange?"

"Desire. Captivation. Enthusiasm."

"White?"

"Innocence and purity."

"GoGo?"

"Yea?"

"How do you know so much about roses?"

GoGo pauses thoughtfully, not breaking pace from her casual stroll. They are heading to a nearby bookstore in order to secure some colour paper, and Tadashi's question tugs at faded memories of her family - tucked away and hidden in the corners of her mind.

"Mother was a big rose fanatic. Dad used to give her nine roses every month - all in pots, because he knew she loved growing them." Tadashi stays quiet for a while, and GoGo volunteers no more information. He wouldn't know what it meant anyway - she thinks fiercely - if she had admitted to him that her father had turned up with fifteen roses on the last day of the marriage (2).

* * *

"First you fold it like this... Press it gently..." GoGo launches into a myriad of instructions, all of which evidently becomes lost on Tadashi - if the crumpled piece of paper in his hand had anything to go by. GoGo almost laughes at the irony of it when she sees his dismayed expression. She was the speedster, the adrenaline-junkie. And Tadashi was the patient one, the one who devoted his life to building a nursing robot, the one who was generally slow and gentle and everything GoGo is not. Yet here, he was barely able to follow through the instructions of an origami rose, something she could (surprisingly) fulfil. Maybe it was the origami lessons her mother had given her as a child. Maybe she was simply going to fast for Tadashi to catch up.

"I'm not giving up." Tadashi states aloud firmly, glaring at the stack of modestly dark pink papers.

This time, GoGo doesn't stop her smile from surfacing. At least some things remained the same (3).

* * *

It takes close to a week until an impressive number of dark pink origami roses were folded, and Tadashi cautiously stores them in a pale green box with floral patterns. GoGo has ended up helping him with the first few roses at the begininng (Seeing as they've ended up resembling _nothing_ close to a rose) until Tadashi has finally gotten the flow of it. But nevertheless, she can still certify that Aunt Cass' gift has been entirely handmade by him - the paper cuts he has when not being careful enough was proof enough ("You fold it like this-" "Ouch!" "What?" "Paper cut."). And while GoGo knows she's probably going to be avoiding origami roses for some time now (She _swears_ she can fold them even in her sleep), she thinks back and decides she has no regrets in her decision.

"It went great!" Tadashi beams at GoGo the next morning, one day after Aunt Cass' birthday celebration - a private affair with only Hiro and himself were present. He promtply launches into enthusiastic descriptions of how he had made dinner, gave Aunt Cass her roses and a card, watched her stare at them in utter shock for a moment (which had made him cringe in worry), before bursting into loud sobs and throwing her arms around her nephew (which had made him cringe in pain). GoGo simply smiles and nods indifferently, even though honestly, she's contented that Tadashi's happy.

(It's just the tiniest bit sad that he's part of something she'll never be in. And that he has a happy family that she no longer and will not ever have).

"Here, GoGo." Breaking her out of her thoughts, Tadashi leans towards GoGo and deposits a few petite roses into her hands.

"... What are these for?" She demands suspiciously. They are a curious range of colours - Red, purple, orange, yellow, light pink and dark pink.

"Well... When I was trying to get used to the steps, I used other coloured papers so I wouldn't waste all of the pink." Tadashi starts to explain. He runs a hand through his tousled hair nervously, as if questioning the authencity of his action. "And they don't look half-bad - well, at least better than the others - so I decided to give them to you!" Tadashi brightens. "As a thank-you gift."

GoGo stares at the bundle in her arms and counts the roses carefully. She frowns, stares at it again, and resumes her counting. By her third count, she flushes red and glares at Tadashi.

"You- You don't just give six roses to-" GoGo splutters incoherently, a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"To _what_?" Tadashi looks utterly lost. "Is it a bad number?" GoGo gives him a long, contemplative look - its meaning which is lost on him, and finally exudes a short sigh.

"It's fine." She finally admits. "Just check the internet or library for the meaning of rose numbers next time." With that, GoGo stalks off, muttering under her breath. Tadashi stares after her in confusion.

"That's strange," He mumbles, though gratified that GoGo has still opted to accept it. "I thought Honey Lemon said that six roses meant 'Thank you'."

* * *

That night, GoGo stares silently at the vase of origami roses across her table.

Yellow for friendship and happiness. Red for love and respect. Purple for enchantment or something of the like. Orange for captivation and desire. Dark pink for appreciation and gratitude, as she had said before. Light pink for sympathy and admiration. GoGo sighed. Mixed roses were generally given as a sign of unsure feelings.

But six roses? They conveyed the message of 'I want to be yours'. And when she thinks about how innocently Tadashi had passed it off as a 'Thank you' gift, GoGo can feel an annoying heat creep up her neck

She buries her face in her hands, and tries to hide the smallest of smiles that came with it too.

* * *

(1) Mini fact because I've read a theory/ headcanon that Tadashi's left-handed, based on the observations made from his tests on Baymax.

(2) According to the internet, fifteen roses meant an apology or something similar, hence why GoGo's father supposedly gave them to her mother before their divorce. Nine roses mean 'I want to be with you forever.'

(3) GoGo's also referring to how her parent's marriage changed over time but how Tadashi's personality stays constant and in a way it makes her feel more secure.


	12. Babysitting

**Author's notes: School makes me want to simultaneously combust, but that's a different story. Do note that I chose the name Abigail randomly, without noticing it happened to be the same name as Callaghan's daughter. Hence, both characters are not related to each other. Also, I don't have the experience of raising kids yet so the following content mostly results from research. My bad for any inconsistencies. Do read and review! They brighten my day all the time :)**

**Tadashi and GoGo are more than friends but not quite an official couple - yet. (If you want it chronologically it would probably be after the Chapter 'Rain'.)**

* * *

GoGo Tomago is bad with kids, because she's (somewhat) impatient, does not understand them and only knows that when you stare at one, they either start crying or make pretty good stare-downs.

Which is why when she's given the offer to babysit some child of her stepmother's friend, her first reaction is to decline it curtly. But GoGo happens to be short of money, and Tadashi's birthday is coming in a week or so (Not that she bothered to check. Really). So she ends up accepting after much contemplation.

Now, she needs someone with childcare as his or her expertise, or at the very least, a partner in misery (It's on a Friday night, and even the Nerd Lab has breaks during the weekends. Besides, GoGo speculates that if she has no company to stop her from getting too impatient, she might very well end up with a strangled child in her hands.)

She ends up going with Tadashi Hamada.

It's purely through the process of elimination - Honey Lemon was busy, Fred would probably indulge the kid in comic books and action figurines (Not a bad idea - if the kid wasn't a _girl_) while Wasabi would probably freak out and sanitize his hands every five minutes. GoGo's lips curl. Somehow it always ends up being Tadashi. Maybe it has something to do with how he's (arguably) the sanest of them all (GoGo doesn't count herself in because while she may be level-headed, she's still an adrenaline-junkie for a reason).

He turns up at their meeting spot in his usual cap, a simple white T-shirt, casual jeans and a tan coloured bag (It's a satchel, he insists occasionally. GoGo just rolls her heads and pretends she doesn't find his habit of correcting her words cu- Funny. She means to say funny. (1)). GoGo gives him a grunt that may have been a hello and stalks off in the direction of the house. She's dressed in a more casual version of her normal clothes as well - a white sleeveless top ("Hey, look, we're in couple colours-" Tadashi begins. GoGo punches his arm) and charcoal grey jeans. She ends up throwing a black jacket on (One that did act as an insulator to the cold, unlike her flashier one prior) even though she doesn't want to give the child any chance to barf on her clothes. Even if said child is already four years old.

Tadashi does not seem the slightest bit worried - He seems to have an unnaturally perpetual aura of calm cheerfulness.

"So, GoGo, why do you need to babysit? Thought you said you couldn't stand kids." He attempts to make conversation as they stroll down the street.

"Been a bit low on cash lately," GoGo replies, without batting an eye.

"Really?" He sounds surprised. "Do you need to buy anything in particular? I could lend you some money if it's urgent.

"I'm fine." She just wishes they could reach their destination quicker.

* * *

After the mother (Mrs. Flynn) has left specific instructions regarding her 'Darling Abigail', (All the while eyeing GoGo somewhat doubtfully, which GoGo threorises is due to the purple streak in her hair, since she has forwent her original outfit also for the sake of avoiding any judgmental treatment. Mrs. Flynn seems a bit more relieved when she sees Tadashi, GoGo notes sourly. Must be the - never mind.) GoGo proceeds to stare awkwardly at the little girl that is Abigail.

"Are you taking care of me tonight?" She asks innocently, her pale orange hair tied into two curly pigtails, dressed in a wrinkled pink shirt (GoGo's eyes narrow a little) and shorts.

"Yes." GoGo answers shortly. And she'd like it to be as quiet and painless as possible, she tags on mentally. Tadashi mumbles something about putting his bag down in the living room, casting GoGo a wary look (What _is_ she? An active volcano?) as he leaves her alone with Abigail. Abigail continues staring unreservedly at GoGo, only blinking silently a few times.

"Why is your hair purple?"

"My hair is not purple. It just has a purple streak," GoGo clarifies pointedly. "And it's purple because I _like_ it." She waits for the child to challenge her view, but when all Abigail does is say "Cool." - Like it's totally normal for a four year old to do that, GoGo feels just the slightest bit mollified.

Maybe kids weren't so bad after all.

* * *

She's wrong, kids _are_ that bad.

"Abigail!" GoGo hisses, as Abigail wails and sends the bowl of rice careening across the table. They've ventured into the kitchens, seated themselves, placed Abigail in a chair at the head of the table, and gave her the bowl of warm rice with fish that her mother had prepared.

"I don't want rice! I want cheese!" She howls, her small hands gripping the sides of her chair. They've been waging war for almost ten minutes now. GoGo feels her right eye twitch slightly (Normally she'd make an extra big bubble and bite down on her gum sharply, but it's currently stowed away in her jacket pocket - which was hanging on the hook of her door at home. Urgh.) as she recalls the exact words of Abigail's mother earlier.

_"Make sure she eats her rice, she's had had cheese for the whole day!"_

Well, Mrs. Flynn certainly never mentioned how difficult it was to make her daughter devour rice. GoGo sighs and starts looking for something to clean up the mess. It takes a moment for her to realise that Tadashi is no longer seated beside her.

"Here." Almost immediately, Tadashi places a damp cloth on the table and sets a plate gently in front of the wailing child.

GoGo stares up at him, then at the plate.

Abigail blinks and coos in surprise.

On the plate is a white, star-shaped onigiri. Her eyes lighting up, Abigail lifts the dainty rice ball to her mouth and bites it, revealing a tuna filling. Meanwhile, as she happily devours her dinner, GoGo glances at Tadashi questioningly.

"Hiro didn't take to rice a lot when we were young. Mother made these for him, and he'd always eat it," Tadashi mumbles, slightly sheepish. He vaguely indicates the cling wrap and cookie cutter currently resting on the kitchen tabletop behind them (2). "I looked around and found those, so I thought I'd try them out." GoGo's eyes soften just the slightest at his words, because she knows it's not easy for Tadashi to raise the topic of his parents. It never was, and the fact that he's opening up to her comforts her (just a little).

"So now you _cook_?" GoGo demands, unimpressed. "Woman _up_, Hamada." GoGo makes a show of rolling her eyes, teasing. It doesn't bother her the slightest that Tadashi can cook better than her. Not at all.

"It's not that much of cooking as it is putting rice into the cookie cutter and wrapping it in cling wrap (3)," Tadashi retaliates, though there's a cheerful note underlying it as well. "Something I'm sure even _you_ can do, Tomago."

GoGo's about to bite back a grin and send another sharp retort, but her attention is diverted by a slightly grain-covered hand tugging gently at her jacket sleeve.

"Excuse me, but can I have one more?" Abigail asks, almost shyly.

GoGo and Tadashi share a look.

"I'll go make another one," Tadashi offers and stands up.

GoGo decides to help him. They end up splashing water at each other when washing up. Abigail laughs loudly and claps her hand.

The sound of her laughter is not as annoying as GoGo initially deems.

* * *

Bath time is not. Not. Not. Not. _Not_ easy.

GoGo groans and cracks her sore neck as she once again tries (in vain) to rub soap over Abigail's body. She's met with a cheerful gurgle and a small wave of soapy water (All the remains of her previous four attempts to soap Abigail) sent her way, as Abigail squirms away and starts splashing water every where.

GoGo stops herself from saying something she'd regret spouting in front of the kid. Four year olds tend to be very impressionable, she repeats to herself, gritting her teeth.

"Abigail Flynn, what do I have to do to make you take a bath properly?" She questions in annoyance instead - Not that she fully expects a reply. Abigail immediately stops her splashing and frowns. GoGo warily braces herself for a tantrum, but Abigail simply squeals again.

"Colours!"

"Colours?" GoGo repeats skeptically. She looks around for anything to give her a clue as to what Abigail is saying. Her eyes land on a set of bath crayons (At least, that's what the label says). Half-soaked, tired and sore, GoGo dumps the contents of it into the bath - Abigail screams happily ("You should keep it down!") and GoGo takes the opportunity to promptly lather her with soap. Sighing when the feat has been completed, GoGo runs her arms under the faucet tiredly, trying to remove all soap suds.

That's when she notices the water turning a mix of purple and pink.

It takes her a moment to realise that the bath crayons are starting to disintegrate into a mushy mess - in Abigail's fingers. GoGo hastily pulls a screeching Abigail out of the bath before she has the time to stain anything more than her hands. She positions the (loudly wailing) girl's hands under the separate tap basin and valiantly attempts to remove the distinctly colourful marks. Mrs. Flynn would be less than happy if she found her daughter with bright pink and purple hands, GoGo rationalises grimly. (4)

When the mixture of purple and pink (and slight hints of yellow and blue) streaks on Abigail's hands have more or less faded, GoGo heaves a sigh, wipes some sweat of her brow, and places the child on the floor mat. She has mostly stopped her fussy whines, but when GoGo starts to towel her dry and put on her clothes, Abigail plunges into screeching again and wriggles out of her grasp.

GoGo glares at the child as she disappears into the passageway - half-dressed - with her pants dangling loosely. She's _that_ close to swearing, but ends up spitting out the word 'Kids' with as much force as she can muster instead.

Tadashi turns up with a wriggling Abigail in his arms, her pants are now securely around her waist. He takes one look at colour-stained bathtub, and looks back at the sullen GoGo, whose shirt is slightly damp with sweat.

"You used the bath crayons, didn't you?" He asks, unusually critically. GoGo refuses to answer. She thinks he probably made the same mistake somewhere down the line, and leaves it to him to figure out the truth (It's not that hard with the melted bits of wax floating awkwardly in the tub still).

Nevertheless, Tadashi ends up having to clean up the colourful mess that is now the Flynn family bathtub.

* * *

"Can you tell me a story?" Abigail asks, tucked up in bed (while Tadashi is busy cleaning up the bathroom). GoGo hesitates. She's not good at narrating anything fictional - she's far too straightforward for that. But judging by the bright-eyed child eagerly getting up and leaning forward, GoGo decides she hasn't a choice.

"Well, I was... When I was young, a few years older than you, I didn't have friends. I was too scary." She clears her throat uncomfortably and shifts about by the side of Abigail's bed.

"But then I went to San Fransyoko and... I found a couple of friends there. There's Fred - he's pretty annoying but he actually has a kind heart. Honey Lemon's really cheerful and upbeat. It kinda annoys me too, but she's one of my best friends still. Then there's Wasabi, who's also annoying - but he means well, even if he _is_ obsessed with cleanliness (5). And finally there's Tadashi-" GoGo cuts herself off, because she's not sure how to describe him. Annoying? Helpful? The sanest friend she's ever known? Her best friend? Her boy-

"Is that the guy who made me dinner?" Abigail wants to know. GoGo nods. Almost on cue, Tadashi enters the bedroom, his fingers and white shirt marked with colourful streaks (GoGo winces slightly in guilt).

"What? Were you talking about me?" He asks, curious, but polite at the same time. GoGo's about to shake her head to indicate no (She'd _never_ live it down - or _up_ to her image, if Tadashi heard her talking about their friends like that) but Abigail beats her to it.

"Yes! You're the guy who made me dinner!" Abigail squeals. "You're fun!" GoGo doesn't know why she feels imperceptibly annoyed by that (What about herself, then? She can feel the childish thought echoing in her mind), but Abigail turns to her as well, a bright smile adorning her face.

"And you're really cool and pretty! I like you." GoGo barely has any time to weigh the honesty of the child's words when little Abigail immediately throws her arms around GoGo's neck (She rather likes that warm feeling). GoGo smiles. Just a little.

Then she sits back and ponders hard - GoGo thinks she can think better than Fred ever can.

"Hey," Abigail seems to have come to a conclusion of sorts. "Are you my mummy and daddy tonight?"

GoGo freezes. Tadashi just chuckles (Even though his cheeks are tinted a little pink).

"For tonight? Yes." He walks over to Abigail and pats her orange hair. "Now go to sleep, we'll stay here with you. Your mummy and daddy will be coming home soon."

Abigail nods, trying to stifle a yawn. GoGo hasn't counted how long the awkward silence has lasted before the four year old has already nodded off. She proceeds to seat next to the bed (and Tadashi) in silence for a while, until her watch tells her it's half past seven, and Abigail's parents would be returning in five minutes.

They creep out of the room silently - GoGo feels strangely reluctant to leave. Must be how accident-prone the kid can be, she tells herself.

"Just now-" Tadashi clears his throat when they reach the living room. "Just now, erm, Abigail asked me if you were my girlfriend,"

GoGo feels her cheeks flush red. She shoots him a suspicious look.

"I, well-" He grins sheepishly. "We both agreed you were pretty."

She's just about to punch him when the doorbell rings

* * *

"So how's the experience of playing Mother to Abigail?" Tadashi asks, as they walk home together under the winking stars. GoGo glares at the use of the word 'Mother' but chooses to ignore it.

"Tough." She grunts. "I guess... You must have had it tough too, doing the same for Hiro." GoGo feels self-conscious addressing it, but she's always found Tadashi's devotion to his younger sibling - well, _admirable_ (Not that she's ever going to tell him that, of course).

Tadashi looks somewhat taken aback at the sudden compliment, but his face breaks into a goofy grin nevertheless. They walk on in silence until they're starting to reach their point of separation.

"We'll make a great Mother and Father in the future then, won't we?" Tadashi teases as he waves goodbye.

GoGo narrows her eyes as she turns and prepares to leave.

"Dream on, Hamada." She tries not to smile too hard, but she has a feeling Tadashi's figured it out anyway.

* * *

I kinda lost my writing inspiration at the ending. Aish, I wouldn't know what to do if I couldn't write. Hope some of you have enjoyed it nevertheless.

(1) She meant to say Cute. XD

(2) and (3) Got the idea from this website /2007/07/tip-use-cookie-cutters-as-onigiri-molds/

(4) I've never used bath crayons before so I searched them up. Apparently some brands tend to melt in water. Either way, it didn't bode well for GoGo.

(5) I typed this through half-way when I realised GoGo technically can find all her friends annoying. But I think no matter how tough she tries to act, she really loves them still.


	13. Sick

**Author's notes: HEY, I'M ALIVE! I'm really really sorry for the late updates. I had my Mid-Years and Chinese O Levels, hence why I couldn't get back into writing. I feel as though many people lost interest in the story as such - but to those who willingly waited and are still interested in reading 'moments with you', I honestly cannot thank you enough for this chance. Thank you. **

* * *

"Hello? GoGo? GoGo Tomago? Are you in there?" Tadashi Hamada squints into the peephole of the wooden door - only for it to swing out and hit him in the face seconds later.

"What do you want?" A frazzled GoGo addresses the figure clutching his nose. Her tousled hair - sticking up in odd angles - along with her too-large shirt and black boxers is a fair indication that she has been asleep (or trying to fall sleep) before Tadashi rung the doorbell a few seconds ago. "And woman up. I didn't open the door _that_ hard."

GoGo Tomago does not appreciate people turning up at her doorstep 8 am in the morning - especially when she's supposed to be in bed with a flu. And cough. And a slight fever. And a serious lack of sleep because she's been coughing a lung out for two nights and counting. Even if it's Tadashi Hamada (Or rather, _especially_ if it's him.)

"You weren't in the lab yesterday or the day before," Tadashi points out, now rubbing his nose gently. "And Honey Lemon said you weren't feeling well. So I came to visit." His demeanor seems to brighten at the word 'visit', but GoGo grits her teeth instead because she does not appreciate Honey Lemon blurting out every single fact about her to Tadashi (including the one last week on how she was actually a closet Captain America fan (1) ).

"I'm not in the mood for-" GoGo pauses flatly to search for a suitable word. "For whatever you have in mind. And I only slept for about _two hours _last night, so if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed." GoGo prepares to close the door, but Tadashi jams his foot in between (She winces at his yelp of pain).

"C'mon GoGo, let me in," Tadashi insists. "I'm helping you make breakfast cos I'm pretty sure you're an awful cook." GoGo bristles mildly (though even she can't deny the truth of the statement), pretty sure that piece of information comes courtesy of Honey Lemon.

"Do you and Honey Lemon always talk behind my back when I'm not there?" She gripes. But she relents and swings the door open for Tadashi to enter anyway. His persistence is culminating in a headache that she cannot afford to have.

"Well," Tadashi mulls over it for a while. "I happen to talk about you a lot. Honey Lemon just supplies more information." He turns in the direction of her kitchen and proceeds to dump his groceries on the counter top dismissively.

GoGo's face turns a light shade of red. She's pretty sure it's due to her fever.

She ends up changing into something that smells less and is more presentable. In the midst of pulling on her sweatpants, GoGo thinks she's pretty lucky that Tadashi didn't notice the heart print boxers she was wearing when he came in. It would have done a lot to her 'Punk-Biker-Tough-Girl' image - the one she's ended up adopting to keep people away. When GoGo looks back, she thinks it's strange how it never worked for Honey, Wasabi and Fred. And Tadashi.

Now dressed in a white shirt far too big for her, and a pair of grey sweatpants, GoGo curls back into her bed. The new clothes makes her feel just the slightest bit better, but it's still hard to breathe (the flu, she mentally notes), it's still a little cold (the fever), and she's still coughing at 120-second intervals (Yes, being ill has made her bored enough to count the seconds between each of her coughs).

"GoGo?" Her rest is suddenly and promptly interrupted by three rapid knocks to the door. GoGo rolls her eyes (under her closed eyelids) and shifts her body to face the door. She wraps her blanket tightly around herself and waits for Tadashi to open it. But a few silent seconds pass and no Hamada appears.

"What are you doing, Hamada? Weren't you gonna come in?" GoGo grunts, loud enough for Tadashi to hear. Finally, the door creaks open in an almost tentative fashion and Tadashi slips in.

"You didn't answer, so I thought you were changing," He mumbles, looking embarrassed. GoGo's starting to feel as awkward as he looks, but she ends up simply grumbling under her breath and moving to sit up on her bed.

"I made you some food," Tadashi changes the subject cheerfully, his previous traces sof awkwardness gone. GoGo eyes the plate in his hands warily. It's porridge, she mentally notes, with small chunks of cut vegetables in it. Then she glances at Tadashi.

"What?" He replies, puzzled.

"You actually made this?"

"Yea, it's a... Family recipe. Hiro took it all the time when he was sick as a kid," Tadashi answers, his face starting to lose its initial puzzlement. It's being replaced by a distant, guarded look that is vaguely familiar to GoGo.

"What about you? Didn't you eat it too?" She asks, in an attempt to break the tension.

"I was the one making it after my mum died." Tadashi replies flatly. GoGo can feel her body stiffen, because there are still instances when Tadashi shuts up and distances himself whenever his parents come into the topic. (There are still instances where she's careless enough to mention them, instances where Tadashi gives her a blank stare that hurts more than any glare or rebuke he can possibly provide).

"But-" Tadashi clears his throat, breaking her out of her train of thought. He tugs off his cap and runs his left hand through his tousled hair. "Well, I never really told anyone this, so, just-" A hint of red is starting to form across his face. "Just keep it a secret. And eat up. The food's getting cold. I'll go clean up the kitchen - give a shout when you're done." He gives a small, embarrassed grin and turns away. Tadashi's out of the door before GoGo can even blink and watch him go (Despite her need for speed, she's starting to think he can be a surprising lot faster).

She stirs the porridge absent-mindedly and spoons some into her mouth. It's been cooled, and tastes like a mixture of ginger, vegetables, and the warm comfort of a family. As she was ate, her appetite slowly improving again, GoGo's thinks of how Tadashi has finally started opening up about the topic of his parents. She tries hard not to smile too widely (and look like an idiot in the process).

When she's done, GoGo (while not wanting to admit it) is contentedly full, in spite of her still running nose. She rises from her bed, empty plate in hand (it was good enough for her to scrape it clean), but just as she stretches her left hand forward to twist open the door knob, it turns on its own accord and the door nearly slaps her in the face. GoGo steps back hastily (Thank god for her quick reaction, she thinks) and escapes with a nasty shock instead.

"GoGo? I thought I said to give a shout when you're done?" Tadashi asks, as he peeks out from the door. GoGo glares at him in return. "As if I'm gonna shout across the whole apartment just to get a plate returned."

"I was supposed to give you your medicine in bed after you shouted," Tadashi replies, sounding disappointed. GoGo hesitates momentarily.

"I'll take my medicine in the kitchen-"

"I- I'm not done cleaning it yet," Tadashi stammers. Hastily, he grabs the plate from GoGo. "I'll just put this in the sink and come in with your medicine. Go back to bed, GoGo, I'll come in in a while." It's not like she has much of a choice, when Tadashi's already pulling the door close. GoGo huffs in irritation at his almost dismissive manner - but given everything, she supposes (and she knows) she's pretty thankful for his visit.

(She doesn't think she'll ever get to telling him that though.)

A short while afterwards, Tadashi comes in with a few bottles of medicine and pills - GoGo scrunches up her face in disgust when she sees them. Tadashi simply grins and places them on the small chest next to her bed. Then his expression turns serious as he stares contemplatively at GoGo.

"What?" She demands, unnerved.

"Just thinking," Tadashi replies, "If I'm supposed to feed you your medicine or if you can do it yoursel-" GoGo answers by throwing her pillow at him.

"I'll do it myself," she snaps back. Her fever feels like it's starting to shoot up again. Tadashi just laughs in reply. Now she's _sure_ her fever is shooting up again.

GoGo downs her series of medicines with a lot of water - screwing up her face when the bitterness stings her tongue. Tadashi watches her as she does so. GoGo starts to feel uncomfortable under his questioning gaze ("Woman up." She growls to herself) and strangely self-conscious, until she realises he's _taking notes_.

"What are you doing?" She asks, confused and slightly groggy as the effects of the medicine starts to set in.

"Well," Tadashi pauses. "Remember the project I was working on? The one I told you about before?"

"That..." GoGo tries to recall what Tadashi has told her before she has fallen ill. "That healthcare robot? Bay-something?" She distantly recalls a large, white marshmallow looking robot on one of Tadashi's blue prints.

"Exactly!" Tadashi exclaims in triumph. "I wanted to know more about how to make patients comfortable even when they were ill - and this was a pretty good opportunity." He proceeds to ramble on details of healthcare and comfort, but even as GoGo listens, she feels something within her fizzle out - like a half-hearted firework.

"Is that why you're here?" She asks slowly. "As an experiment?"

Tadashi freezes.

"Well, uh, not exactly," He stammers. He's starting to lose his composure, GoGo realises, as the normally calm Tadashi struggles to grasp for words.

"I thought you would want company since you were ill..." Tadashi mumbles. He takes a deep breath. "And to be honest, I kinda wanted to see you. The medical knowledge part was an excu- a bonus. A bonus." He repeats, his face flushing slightly.

Now it's GoGo's turn to lose her composure.

"I, erm, never mind." Her fever feels like it's rising again. "Thanks, Tadashi." She coughs a little to cover up for the use of his first name, but the older Hamada simply smiles. GoGo returns it and she knows he understands all the words she has wanted to convey.

Later, GoGo ends up falling asleep. Upon waking, her fever seems to have subsided. When she presses a hand against her forehead, she no longer feels a fuzzy lingering heat. Similarly, her throat no longer feels as scratchy and her breaths - less suffocating. Clearing her throat, GoGo groggily clambers out of bed, wondering where Tadashi has gone. The entire apartment is silent empty, and the kitchen, newly cleaned. GoGo realises Tadashi has left. Something strangely alike disappointment settles in her heart heavily - until she notices a large purple origami crane propped up on her kitchen table, along with a note.

_I cleaned up your apartment for a while after you fell asleep. Hope you feel better after your rest. Honey, Fred, Wasabi and I decided to make you a gift as a surprise! See you tomorrow. Tadashi._

GoGo promptly eyes the said origami crane. There's writing on one of its wings ("Open it up" in what she presumes is Honey Lemon's loopy handwriting). Hesitantly, she pulls apart the entire origami crane - comforted by the fact that she knows how to fold it back again if Honey's instruction yields nothing. But as she unfolds the crane, GoGo starts spotting splashes of colour and indeed, when the crane reaches its initial state of a white piece of square paper, GoGo flips it around and sees a series of messages adorning the underside of the crane (2).

_Get well soon GoGo! Even though it's only been a few days, we still miss you (along with the sound of your bubblegum-popping). Don't feel too down, I'm sure Tadashi's visit will cheer you up. Honey Lemon :)._

_Hope you recover soon, GoGo, no one's around to mess up by tools anymore - which is great, by the way, since it takes a long time to rearrange everything after you randomly snatch up my belongings - but anyway, hope you're feeling better. Wasabi._

_Hey GoGo, get well soon! Since we didn't have time to fold a thousand origami cranes, we ended up folding just one big one (3). The lab isn't the same place without you around. Hope you're recovering as fast as you can go! Fred._

"Getting all mushy for no reason..." GoGo shakes her head and sighs, preparing to fold the origami crane back into its original shape. No one sees the uncharacteristically soft smile on her face even as she meticulously creases the paper once more to get it back into the figure of a crane.

"Thanks."

* * *

(1) Gotten from L.C Li's fanfic, Stars and Stripes, which details of the headcanon that GoGo is secretly a Captain America fan.

(2) and (3) I got this idea from an episode of Crayon-Shin-Chan anime - paper/cranes are usually given to those who are ill, but since GoGo isn't dangerously sick, Tadashi, Honey, Wasabi and Fred simply wrote their messages on the bottom side of a square piece of paper and folded it into a paper crane so their messages are kept within it. I may add Tadashi's message if I have the time.

Thanks for reading!


	14. Birthday Gift

**I'M BACK. I AM BACK. **

**I'm sorry for the hiatus, but now that my exams are mostly over, I will be able to get back to writing. However, since it's been months since I last wrote, I apologise if my writing and stories are not as good as they used to be. I am aiming to increase the quality of 'moments with you', and do more show than tell in the story. Thank you for the wait! **

* * *

14.

It is morning, the ground is damp, the breeze is _just_ right for a race on her motorbike, and GoGo Tomago is stuck at home, writing a letter.

She blames Tadashi (and Honey Lemon, for provid- forcing, that idea into her brain) for that.

It's his birthday in three days, and despite scouring for gifts for ages, GoGo hasn't found anything that could pass off as a presentable present. She had intended to buy food; but Honey had banned that decision in mortification ("It's not _personal_ if you do that!"). Which was a pity, really, because GoGo was planning to buy a bag of giant marshmallows and tell Tadashi to build Baymax out of that. Though, given how he hasn't had any luck with the robot lately, she thinks it might be a bad choice.

Which is why Honey Lemon came up with the idea of a letter. To GoGo, it's stupid, cliche, cheesy and not worth the effort. But she still ends up seated in her apartment on a Saturday, trying to compose one (So far, she has a few tic-tac-toe games and a lot more doodles of her bike). She can almost _see_ Honey Lemon's satisfied smile, when she realised her idea had worked.

_Dear Tadashi,_

GoGo bites her lip hesitantly and crosses it out. She's not the 'Dear so-and-so kind'.

_Tadashi,_

Did that sound too casual? Was including dear a more polite option after all? GoGo shakes her head in frustration. She'll come back to it later.

(Despite saying she'll come back to it later, she spends another 3 minutes on the salutation, a record considering her impatience, and finally settles on _'Hey, Hamada,'_)

_I heard it's your birthday today_, she writes. _So Happy Birthday_. GoGo pauses and stares at the letter blankly. So far, she has written approximately 5 lines, and most of it are words crossed out or greetings discarded. Grabbing a new piece of writing paper, she sighs heavily and swears Tadashi better appreciate the effort she's going through.

* * *

_Hey, Hamada,_

_I heard it's your birthday today, so Happy Birthday._

_You, of all people, know this isn't my style. I hate letter-writing, which is why you better appreciate this. I spend a whole morn– hour, on this, a record even if you consider my lecture notes. Anyhow, you're eighteen this year; seen any grey hair yet? You've been moping so much about Hiro lately that I'm surprised you haven't gotten any (new) wrinkles. Same goes for Baymax._

_Honey says letters are supposed to represent how much you appreciate someone which frankly, I don't get. But I do know that you are some– I mean, one of the important people in my life. So even when I yell and hit you, I hope you always understand that._

_It's been some time since we met – Remember how we ended up wandering around the whole university on our first meeting? I thought you were really annoying back then (don't pat yourself on the back; you still are), but in the long run, you've helped me a lot in my life. So, thanks. For caring and for staying so long. I'm not good at thanking people, so this is all you're gonna get. (It's the only way I can spit it out, so woman up and live with it)._

_... You're pretty c– You're fine, Hamada. Happy Birthday and good luck on both Baymax and your brother. I know you'll make it. You're Tadashi Hamada._

* * *

It takes half an hour, but eventually the letter is complete. GoGo reads through it twice to check for any spelling mistakes or grammar errors (she winces just a little bit when she sees the words she has cut off abruptly, or the ones cancelled to no point of recognition) – and cringes when she contemplates what she has written. But all the words she penned down were true (no matter how cheesy she found them to be. Urgh. She was turning to be such a _sap_.) Finally satisfied, GoGo folds the letter carefully and prepares to slip it into an envelope. She's not exactly _happy_, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't satisfied with her accomplishment (She took an entire morning on this, without abandoning it and bolting, and with only mild procrastinating. To her, that's an accomplishment, given her patience.)

For a while, she glances at it and hesitates. She wonders if Tadashi would mind that the only present she was capable of giving him was a measly letter, when Honey Lemon was presenting him a beautiful birthday cake, Wasabi was giving him a book about robots (Like he actually needed anymore, GoGo mutters under her breath) and Fred was giving him a monster figurine.

Then she realises she's out of envelopes.

GoGo vaguely recalls given the stack of them to Honey Lemon some time ago (during Christmas, to be exact, so she could write her 'thank you' letters) and hadn't bothered to replenish them. Groaning, she pulls on her leather jacket, shoves some money into her pockets and stalks out of her apartment. She's starting to think baking a cake for Tadashi would have been a lot less troublesome than this (even if it would end up in a burning kitchen and a mountain of dirty dishes.)

* * *

Despite her irritation, GoGo supposes that taking a stroll in the streets isn't bad. She breathes in the fresh, rainy smell (San Fransyoko has been facing wet weather for some time now) of the city, intermingled with pungent car engines, and the throbbing pulse of the bustling city life. Her headache about Tadashi's birthday present (or lack thereof) lessens considerably as she purchases a modest stack of envelopes (she bought more than one - just in case) from the post office. It's only when she turns a corner of the street to pass by the park does she see a clothing store tucked in the middle of two flashy cafes.

It's the grey cardigan she sees in the store window that draws her in. The store is done in a range of pastel colours, and GoGo wrinkles her nose slightly, if only because she has never been a fan of Honey Lemon's colour scheme (which consisted of varying shades of yellow and pale, soft colours in general). She has always preferred darker colours - ones that could hide her face and emotions. But no matter. The grey cardigan reminds her of the birthday boy for some reason. Maybe it's the resemblance to the blazers he commonly wore (which were becoming more common due to the ever lingering rain).

"Miss? May I help you?" The salesperson greets her promptly, a distinguished looking man who towers over GoGo by a head and a half (Not unlike Tadashi, GoGo thinks for a while).

"Cardigan," GoGo clears her throat awkwardly. "I want to take a look at that grey cardigan."

"Oh," the salesperson falters slightly. "I'm afraid we don't have any in your size-"

"It's for a friend," GoGo cuts in, feeling slightly embarrassed. The salespersons' furrowed brows clear momentarily and he gestures towards the article of clothing.

"Well then, what size is your friend?"

GoGo hesitates. How the hell would she know what size Tadashi Hamada wore? Why was she even getting him clothes anyway (Wasn't that usually what girlfriends did)? He probably had plenty of them already.

"Miss?"

"Er, Medium." She finally decides. Large seems more befitting of Wasabi anyway. GoGo briefly wonders if it's impulsive of her to purchase the cardigan as a birthday gift – but the soft and warm vibe it gives persistently reminds her of Tadashi.

She swears she's losing it.

But true enough, when the salesperson hands her the cardigan for inspection, GoGo runs her hand across the soft and smooth material and decides to take it. It will prove useful in San Fransokyo's recent cold spell anyway. Despite herself, GoGo gives a small smile before asking to pay for the cardigan.

"Your friend is a very lucky man," The salesperson comments.

"He's a nice guy, I guess," she coughs, feeling slightly embarrassed. The salesperson smiles and asks her if she wants the cardigan wrapped. GoGo nods curtly (and, feeling a little foolish, she asks him to secure the gift with a ribbon as well. The salesperson simply smiles before agreeing to her request.)

"One last thing, Miss," Just before GoGo is prepared to leave the store, the salesperson stops her to share a tidbit of information. GoGo wish he didn't – the words couldn't get out of her head.

"That cardigan you purchased is called a 'boyfriend cardigan', it's quite popular with girlfriends who are getting their significant others gifts-"

GoGo Tomago has never been so glad to get out of a store.

* * *

"GoGo!"

GoGo turns, preparing to open her umbrella and brave the howling rain home. Tadashi is standing behind her, panting slightly, his fingers wrapped tightly around the package she left on his table. The paper is crinkled and the ribbon, gone. He's already opened it.

"Yea?" She averts his eyes. He wasn't supposed to see the gift until she left, or preferably, was safe at home. His birthday was tomorrow, and they would be celebrating it then. But she hadn't wanted him to open her gift in front of Honey Lemon - what if she recognised the brand label? (GoGo has an inkling that she'd reveal it aloud. Not on purpose, of course; it's just how Honey Lemon is.)

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," she finally mumbles, her eyes rising to rivet his gaze. But Tadashi has directed his attention to the missing label of the cardigan. GoGo gives a relieved sigh that could have passed off as disappointment (it isn't). She feels embarrassed when she realises he's staring at one of the cardigan sleeves, which holds signs of a crudely chopped off label.

"What did you cut off? The label? Why?" Tadashi sounds puzzled.

_Well, it was too obvious,_ GoGo thinks. But she ends up clamping her mouth shut and bolting into the rain, ignoring Tadashi's start. When she has finally put (a safe) distance between them, GoGo pauses, turns, and shouts.

"Happy Birthday in advance, Hamada!"

She runs all the way home, her cheeks faintly tinged. Later, Honey Lemon sends her a text, curious as to why Tadashi was smiling (_'He's even smilier than usual' were her exact words_) for the entire day before the celebration. She seems to think GoGo has or had something to do with it. GoGo denies everything with an impressively straight face.


	15. Ice Cream

**Author's notes: My inspirations and ideas were so low that I had to consult a list of ideas for first dates. Gave a lot of wrong impressions, but this was fun to write. Thank you for the support, and do r and r!**

* * *

15.

"Are you free on Friday?" It is Thursday evening when Tadashi pops the question, his fingers twiddling with a strand of thread from his cardigan.

"Depends," GoGo grunts, squinting at her notes before regarding Tadashi in suspicion. "If this is about babysitting again–"

Tadashi beats her to it, thankfully. "No," he says quickly. "A new ice cream store opened up downtown. Want to take a look? I have coupons."

GoGo stares at him.

"Aunt Cass gave me the coupons and told me to take a friend."

GoGo crosses her arms.

"She wanted me to check out the competition."

GoGo raises an eyebrow.

"She said if I took a friend it wouldn't look as suspicious– _What_?" Tadashi breaks off midway when he sees GoGo narrowing her eyes.

"So why did you invite me? Fred likes ice cream too," she points out. And given how he's been describing Friday as 'nap day', _he_ should be free for it.

Tadashi struggles to say something.

"... Couple."

GoGo blinks. "What?"

"Aunt Cass said that we look like a couple, and if we look like a couple we'd draw less attention," Tadashi finally mumbles. GoGo stares and stares and stares before chucking a book at him. He catches it (he's had enough practice, she grudgingly admits) and starts to tell her to calm down just as she mutters a reluctant 'fine'.

Tadashi beams and GoGo finds her reluctance ebbing. Until he ruins that effect by saying "Great, then it's a date!" GoGo chucks a pen at him this time. He fails to catch it and it hits his forehead with a satisfying bounce.

* * *

GoGo spends the rest of her Thursday insisting that it is _not_ a date to everyone and anyone who asks. No one really believes her – not even Professor Callaghan.

* * *

"Hamada?"

"Y- yea?"

"How long are you going to keep staring?" GoGo snaps, crossing her arms protectively over her white top. The word 'Queen' is emblazoned on it in impressive curly letters; with the picture of a crown above. That much isn't bad, she's actually quite fond of the present Honey got her. What irks her is how Tadashi is wearing the same shirt with a crown and the word 'King' scripted in a similar fashion. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's meant to be a couple thing, GoGo fumes silently.

"Sorry," Tadashi apologises. "Now I know why Honey got me this, though." When GoGo doesn't answer, he grins uneasily.

"Here." Suddenly, Tadashi drapes his grey cardigan over her shoulders in smooth motion. "If you button it up, people wouldn't be able to tell."

"And risk looking like a nerd? Sorry, Hamada, I'd rather take my chances." But Tadashi knows her well enough to realise she's joking. He rolls his eyes and lets out a single "Unbelievable," before advancing. As she makes to follow him, GoGo doesn't button up the cardigan as he suggests. She simply pulls it closer to herself to obscure her top just a little.

(The cardigan happens to have Tadashi's smell – coffee and singed fabric.)

* * *

"It's impressive," Tadashi admits when they step into the cafe. For once, GoGo agrees. It _is_ impressive. The tiles are marble grey and speckled black, matched with tall white tables and chairs. The counter resembles a cocktail bar, only done in paler colors with slabs of colorful ice cream instead of bottles of alcohol. Not that she'd know. She's only been to a bar once (and she doesn't want to talk about it).

"What flavour do you want?" Tadashi asks as he strolls casually to the counter. GoGo follows and keeps an eye out for bubblegum flavoured ice cream. When her search comes short, she huffs inwardly and settles for her old-time favourite. She refuses to add any topping besides some bubblegum marshmallows. Tadashi is right behind her as he pays for their ice creams (and GoGo _will_ admit that she is just a little bit curious about his favourite ice cream flavour. She thinks he's the vanilla-kind. Or chocolate chip.)

"Rainbow sherbet?" Tadashi chortles slightly when he sees the colourful pink confection. GoGo glares at him out of her periphery. They're finally seated on one of the booths with its tall chairs and even taller table. And she'd be lying if she says she isn't irritated by how Tadashi's feet reach the ground – even when he's seated fully on his chair – while hers are still dangling uselessly in space.

"Not meant to be offensive." The tall Hamada immediately clears, his arms raised in mock surrender. GoGo rolls her eyes at him jokingly, knowing the last time he laughed at her hasn't ended well (for him, of course). "Just never thought you'd be the rainbow sherbet type. Given how colorful it is and how–" He pauses for a moment to find the right word. "Well, how not-colorful you are. Honey says she can count the colors of your entire wardrobe with _one_ hand and _still_ have fingers left."

"Oh yeah?" GoGo chooses not to think about why Tadashi and Honey are discussing her wardrobe. "Then tell me, what type _do_ I look?" They're posing as a couple; GoGo thinks she might as well make it look believable. She leans forward in a would-be conspiratorial manner – gazing at Tadashi challengingly – and is gratified to see him starting to fluster.

"Err, well, bubblegum?" He offers.

"That's my other favourite," GoGo grudgingly admits. "But that's besides the point!"

"Then what is the point?" Tadashi asks in a way that makes GoGo think if didn't know better, she'd say he's flirting ba– scratch that. Not flirting back. Just flirting. Flirting back insinuates that she started it in the first place which is– She feels a headache coming on the way and shoves a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth to distract herself. Then she gets brain freeze and there's a _real_ headache now.

"I'm sorry," GoGo hears Tadashi mumble when she's trying to nurse her throbbing head.

"What?" GoGo squints up at him. What's he sorry for? Flirting ba– Never mind. She's going to pretend nothing ever happened.

"You look awful." GoGo's suspicious and mildly insulted glare causes the parlor's already low temperature to shoot down even more.

"Not that way. You look good– I mean, not cos of the shirt – which kind of matches mine – and my cardigan, which– I mean," Tadashi blusters and GoGo deadpans and the air between them falls into a thick and awkward silence.

"You know what? Never mind. Forget I said anything. I mean– I meant, you looked like you were having an awful time." GoGo has to wonder how it takes almost _ten_ sentences for Tadashi to get that out.

"I'm not," GoGo finally admits. "It's actually pretty fun."

There's an intermittent pause of silence as the awkwardness dissipates.

"And for the record, people who have rainbow sherbet as their favorite ice cream flavour are pessimists." GoGo informs Tadashi righteously. And chocolate chip is for the generous, she mentally notes, when she sees Tadashi's three-scoop chocolate chip cone.

"What about bubblegum?" Tadashi teases.

"Adrenaline junkies–"

"Really?"

"–with purple streaks in their hair." GoGo delivers with an impressively straight face.

"Unbelievable."

* * *

It's nearing eight when they walk home in silence. GoGo has returned Tadashi his cardigan (after telling him to woman up from the cold), the coupons have been spent, notes have been taken regarding the parlor ("I hope Aunt Cass doesn't remodel after seeing this," Tadashi mumbled earlier. "Last time she did, Hiro and I moved into the garage cos of the noise.") and the ice cream has been stomached.

"How did you find this?" Tadashi clears his throat and asks abruptly. The night is cold and calm, and GoGo almost doesn't want the day to end. "How did you find today?"

"It was… sweet." GoGo ends up answering.

"That's nice to know. See? I'm not such bad company after all."

"I meant the ice cream." They reach the door of GoGo's apartment, and GoGo thinks there's a flash of disappointment on Tadashi's features just before his placid persona is back again.

"It was fun. And the company was surprisingly good."

Tadashi's face lights up

"But–"

His face falls.

"–I still prefer the Lucky Cat Cafe. Tell Aunt Cass that the ice cream was good, but I still prefer her donuts. Night, Hamada." GoGo enters the apartment and shuts the door. Through the peephole (don't ask why she's even looking in the first place), she can see Tadashi's smile. And even through the door, it is infectious enough for her to start smiling as well.


	16. Drunk

**Author's notes: FINALLY, THIS IS DONE. I'm so sorry for the delay. I originally wrote another similar chapter on someone on the team being drunk, but ended up reserving it as the last chapter of 'moments with you' instead. I nearly completed it yesterday, but felt that the characters were too OOC and my writing was becoming too sloppy instead. I'm still trying to polish my writing skills after having not practiced it for quite a few months. If you have any feedback, observations or comments, do include it in your review!**

**That aside, thank you very much for your patience, lovely comments and support. They honestly mean the world to me.**

* * *

16.

There's a party on Friday - a gathering of university graduates - and Honey Lemon has encouraged the Nerd Lab's occupants to attend, as a break from their examinations. After refusing for 12 hours, GoGo gives in when Honey Lemon promises not to make her dress ridiculously. That, plus the fact that she's pretty worn out by her best friend's tireless begging. And maybe a party _would_ be a good break, GoGo reasons silently. The recent examinations and lessons have been harder than usual, and the atmosphere in the nerd lab is tensed and dreary. She keeps that last thought to herself.

However, Honey Lemon evidently has a different definition of 'ridiculous', compared to her. GoGo stares at her reflection in the mirror distastefully. She's dressed in a large grey hoodie - that much she can accept - and a black skirt. A _skirt_.

"I look–" GoGo's about to say stupid, but Honey cuts her off with a beaming smile.

"Great! You look so cute, GoGo!" Her enthusiasm, while endearing, is not contagious towards GoGo. The dark-haired girl shoots her best friend a look that can rival the 'chilly autumn wind, whispering outside the window'. (At least, that's how Honey refers to it. GoGo prefers the descrition 'swirling depths of hell, screaming death in the vast unknown. When she complains to Honey as much, she begrudgingly admits that she really hates the cold, and that line may or may not come from a book of poems).

"How do you suppose I survive in _this–" _GoGo indicates her knee-length skirt sharply, "In the cold, windy depths outside?"

"You're being dramatic," Honey Lemon admonishes, refusing to be disheartened. She's rummaging for a thick pink cardigan to match her grey sundress. GoGo finds herself wondering how Honey's legs can keep warm in the cold outside, but supposes that the tall pale stockings she's wearing helps a bit. That and the fact that Honey Lemon never seems too bothered by the cold. "Besides, the party house will be warm, and you can wear shorts under your skirt–" GoGo heaves a silent sigh of relief.

"And if you're that cold, Tadashi can keep you warm!" Honey Lemon finishes cheerfully as she turns to face GoGo, simultaneously draping her cardigan over herself. Her golden hair has been arranged into a fluffy bun, and it complements her clothes well. GoGo narrows her eyes in response.

"You better be referring to his _cardigan_," she snarks grumpily. Taking one last glance at the mirror, GoGo runs a hand through her short hair, tries to tug the hem of her skirt down a little more, and prays that no one would laugh at her appearance. Not that she cares if they laugh, of course. She just doesn't want to get reported for slugging them in the face when they did.

* * *

When they arrive, Tadashi, Wasabi and Fred are already present. GoGo knows because they're right in front of her the moment she opens the door. "What took you so long?" Fred wants to know, until he catches sight of GoGo in a skirt, and his mouth falls open.

"GoGo? Are you wearing a–" GoGo whacks the side of his head sharply before he can continue.

"Yes, I'm wearing a skirt, genius," she informs, "And if you have something to say about that, I suggest you keep it to yourself." She doesn't realise how edgy she sounds until she sees Tadashi's look of mild surprise. It's discomforting even amongst the loud music blaring in the background, and the ceaseless chatter surrounding them. Suddenly, GoGo can't wait to get out of here.

She moves to get a drink - something to keep her mouth busy, lest she start spewing insults again or craving bubblegum - mumbling an excuse as she leaves. Tadashi's immediately behind her, and she tries to ignore that. Until he starts talking.

"What drink are you getting? Alcohol?"

GoGo relaxes a little. He's not going to make fun of her appearance or say something that will make her feel awkward. "No, I don't usually drink that. Hangovers are kind of hard deal with when you're living alone."

"I could change that–" Tadashi says, until he realises the implications of it and flushes. "I mean, I could have helped you deal with your hangovers, and, uh," and there he goes, running his mouth off in a fit of fluster. If it wasn't so awkward (maybe less awkward than endearing, which GoGo will never let anyone know) to listen to, GoGo would have found it funny.

"Wait," Tadashi stops suddenly, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Aren't you underage for drinking?"

"I turn 18 in two months," GoGo shrugs, biting back a grin. "Think I can afford to speed up the process."

"Two months?" Tadashi registers skeptically.

"Sixty-three days, to be exact." She's counting down because that's when she can legally afford a driving license.

"Perfect, now I know your birthday," Tadashi is saying cheerfully. This time, GoGo really does smile.

"... Wait, so technically, you weren't old enough for a driver's license when you drove Wasabi's minivan last week?"

* * *

Surprisingly, the party turns out fun. GoGo does not have to slug anyone in the face for laughing at her, and Tadashi is around. Not that him being around is what makes it fun, it just coincides, GoGo clarifies mentally.

She doesn't drink because she still needs to drive home later (So she doesn't have a driving license officially. Yet. It's not a big deal. GoGo just hopes Wasabi never finds out that she drove his minivan around without a license. The lecture she will receive won't be worth it).

Tadashi, on the other hand, is either clueless or incapable of rejecting the drinks being passed around. On occasion, said drinks are pressed into his hand by a simpering female student whose skirt is half as long (or short, depending how you look at it) as GoGo's. She only leaves when GoGo glares at her in suspicion after she eyes Tadashi's lips _way_ too suggestively.

By nine, two hours into the party, Tadashi's already downed far more than he can manage. His cap is lopsided, his face is perpetually flushed, and his speech is slurred and punctuated with hiccups. GoGo eyes his sorry state for a few minutes, debating whether to douse him in water to wake him up. She's halfway through her decision to do so when she catches sight of the female student from earlier whispering to her friends, gesticulating in Tadashi's direction rather conspicuously. GoGo narrows her eyes. If they think she's going to leave Tadashi here for them to flirt and simper over when he's drunk, they're wrong. Not that she's jealous, of course, as Honey Lemon would imply. It's just her duty as his best friend.

"Honey," GoGo hauls Tadashi along with her until they reach the dancing blonde, "I'm going home."

"But GoGo, the party's just getting started!" Her best friend pouts, imploring her to stay. GoGo sighs wearily and wishes she still has a pack of gum left.

"And I'm already out of energy," she points out. "Plus, I'm bringing Tadashi home, he's _drunk_." Honey Lemon takes one look at the state of the red-faced Hamada standing behind her – mumbling a string of words fervently with his eyes half closed – and concedes. GoGo promises to make it up to her on another day, when she no longer has a drunk Tadashi to take care of.

"GoGo?" Fred appears just as GoGo starts to sling one of Tadashi's arms around her neck. He's still talking to himself. "Where are you going?"

GoGo's about to answer 'home', but Tadashi beats her to it.

"GoGo and I are going to bed," He slurs.

GoGo Tomago has never moved faster than she did to get out of the room.

* * *

She arrives at the Lucky Cat Cafe in ten minutes. Upon realising that the door is locked, GoGo sighs and searches for the key in Tadashi's pockets. There's no way she's leaving Tadashi at the door step, and no way she's bringing him over to her apartment. When she finally does find the key in Tadashi's cardigan, GoGo lugs the sleeping Tadashi into the cafe, wondering how to explain the situation (or rather, the concept that Tadashi actually got drunk, or even consumed alcohol at all) to Aunt Cass without incriminating her nephew. She doesn't want to get Tadashi in trouble, even though that's what he's causing her right now. Turns out, she doesn't have to think of what to say, after all. Aunt Cass has a yellow sticky-note tacked to the refrigerator, informing Tadashi that she and Hiro are staying over at a friend's house, and that he should take care of himself. GoGo casts one look at the figure she has left on the cafe floor, and doesn't think he'll be doing that anytime soon.

GoGo drags Tadashi up to his room, swearing that he owes her at least five rides on his scooter for all this. As physically fit as GoGo is, she's not exactly strong, and Tadashi's not exactly light. His entire body is almost draped across her, and he smells heavily of alcohol and faintly of coffee. GoGo remembers thinking that Tadashi must have changed cardigans, since this one doesn't smell of the usual singed fabric from Baymax's short-circuits, until Tadashi starts stirring.

"I know you said to keep my thoughts on your appearance," Tadashi mumbles, only half-awake, "To myself. But I think you look good."

The red in her face is from the exertion of hauling her best friend up the stairs, GoGo insists, not anything else.

* * *

She hopes Tadashi will nod off again after she puts (or pushes) him in bed, but her luck has long run out. Tadashi is awake, intoxicated and acting even stranger than usual. GoGo makes her final, internal debate on whether to just leave him in his room. That debate is followed by another one on whether her conscience will forgive her or not if Tadashi actually hurts himself in his drunken state.

GoGo ends up fetching a glass of water and a bucket from the kitchen. She's decided that she might as well stay until Tadashi is close to passing out again, just in case. Fortunately, Tadashi seems a lot closer to falling asleep when he sees her again. He's seated on his bed, his eyes half-closed, and GoGo takes the opportunity to place the water glass and bucket beside his bed. But when she turns to go, Tadashi wraps his arms around her all of a sudden. GoGo barely has time to utter a protest when her best friend pulls her onto his bed.

"HAMADA!"

"I've always wanted to do this. I'm cold, but you're warm," Tadashi mumbles sleepily into her hair. GoGo squirms in discomfort, struggling to get out of his grip. She's never been one for physical contact. Not even - no, _especially_ \- with Tadashi Hamada.

"Let _go_, Hamada." GoGo wonders why _she's_ the one with the headache when she's not had a drop of alcohol.

"Nope," Tadashi interjects cheerfully. In any other scenario, GoGo would have believed that he was sober. "It's your fault I'm so drunk."

He's clearly very drunk. GoGo purses her lips and decides to humor him and herself. "And why's that? I think the girl that kept passing drinks to you was more at fault."

"No, I only drank them all cos' of you." He was starting to slur again. "You were so pretty that it was distracting. So I drank the alcohol to get over it cos I know you don't like it when people call you pretty…"

GoGo freezes. She does hate being called pretty, as if it's her only winning attribute. That, plus the fact that she isn't pretty - not in the general or traditional way, by any means - or charming, or graceful, or sweet, or attractive in any way. But Tadashi sounds sincere. And genuine.

Then she hears him snoring and sighs loudly in relief.

GoGo leaves a note in Tadashi's room to inform him that she has his keys. She departs from the Lucky Cat Cafe after checking that he is well and truly asleep, securely locking the doors before she settles into her rented vehicle. She's tired, the hoodie is making her uncomfortably warm, and her head hurts. From thinking about Tadashi's words

Tadashi is drunk. That explains everything. That explains why he wasn't making any sense with his words, why he was slurring or mumbling when he spoke, and why he hugged her out of the blue.

But it doesn't explain why GoGo has a warm, mushy feeling inside her chest when she thinks about what he said.


	17. Cooking

**Author's notes: Belated Christmas gift to all my wonderful supporters out there; Buttons and Horseshoes, Just a Little Spark, Nap Team Captain, ayinvui, stubbornheroine, BabyAngelStar101 and so, so many more. You guys have made this the best fic to write, and I'm truly happy and grateful for all your encouragement even when my writing skill wavered, or my updates were slow. So, Merry Belated Christmas, and Happy New Year!**

**(I wrote this at 2.35 am at night, so pardon me if the characters are OOC. Do include how you think I should alter it if possible? Thank you!)**

**P.S. I'm a little curious on what makes Tomadashi special to all of you. If you have the time, do include your answers in your reviews!**

**P.S.S. Tomadashi is special to me because the dynamic of their relationship is fun to explore. GoGo's harsher while Tadashi is kinder, and I think they can teach each other a lot. Also, their bond reminds me of something I share with someone else in real life.**

* * *

17.

"Are you sure about this?"

GoGo shifts uncomfortably in the kitchen, tugging at the purple and black apron strapped around her. It's the one Tadashi got her for Christmas – he got Honey Lemon a matching one as well – and she remembers pretending to scoff at it. Why would she ever need an apron? Then karma decides to bite her in the neck, because it's sent a messenger in the form of one of her best friends. Honey Lemon beams at her in reply, enthusiastically leafing through the cookbook in her hand.

"Sure! It's Christmas, so it'll be optimum for them to come over for dinner!" The taller girl answers, with 'them' referring to their male companions in the nerd lab – Fred, Wasabi, and Tadashi Hamada.

"We already had dinner at your place last week," GoGo points out. Cooking isn't one of her strongest suits, despite the fact that she lives alone (when Honey asks, mildly dumbfounded, GoGo simply gestures to a few discarded takeout boxes in the trashcan).

"Exactly!" Honey Lemon continues, undeterred, "That's why we should have dinner at your place this week."

GoGo sighs. She's never going to get out of this, is she? To her, Honey Lemon is almost the physical embodiment of persistence.

"'Cept for the fact that I can't cook," she mutters, crossing her arms. GoGo hopes her words are enough to convince Honey that having _her_ make dinner is a very dangerous idea (Maybe even worse than the first time Honey had dabbled in baking, GoGo shudders). But Honey merely scoffs lightly at her words.

"Of course you can! Here–" Honey Lemon hands the brand new cookbook to GoGo, who almost drops it from the sheer weight. She absent-mindedly flips to the last page of the book, which is marked with a minuscule three hundred and ten at the bottom corner.

"I've dog-eared the simplest recipes,' Honey Lemon is saying as she grabs her bag and starts heading to the door. GoGo follows after her in slight surprise. Her best friend has been here for merely an hour – a pale comparison to the length of time she usually stays (which ranges from one and a half hours to twenty four). This time, she's only around long enough to give GoGo a few recipes for the christmas dinner she'd forcefully set up. GoGo doesn't mind that idea when Honey Lemon's been the one doing the cooking. It's a different story when _she's_ the one standing behind the kitchen counter with a brand new cookbook pushed into her hands.

For a while, GoGo entertains the idea of calling off the whole thing. It's not like she agreed to the idea in the first place. Not officially, anyway. It's only when Honey Lemon was mentioning how nice it would be if they could have dinner together again that GoGo had voiced her agreement – which, in hindsight, has prompted the bubbly blonde to interpret their exchange as an invitation to GoGo's house.

GoGo wishes she can take back her words now. But it's rare that everyone is free on the same particular day, and unfortunate that all restaurants and cafes will be closing early on said day. GoGo sighs yet again. Now that she has looked for alternate routes, she's starting to realise that she doesn't have any other choice in the matter.

"You're leaving already?" She's been nursing the secret hope that Honey will be staying around to help out.

"Yep, I promised Tadashi I'd meet him for a coffee. Bye!" Before GoGo can as much as raise an eyebrow, Honey Lemon is gone.

GoGo sighs – again – loudly, even though there's no one around to observe her exasperation. She stares at the cookbook left in her hand balefully before setting it down on the counter with unnecessary force. GoGo flips to the dog-eared pages that Honey Lemon has marked, and starts to read them. However, her eyes start glazing not long after and her mind starts to wander – until she realises that she's been on the same line for a few minutes ("Combine potatoes with milk, butter and salt.")

But even after glancing through all of the recipes, GoGo still doesn't understand why there is a sense irritation stirring in the pit of her stomach when she contemplates Honey Lemon meeting Tadashi for coffee.

* * *

The doorbell rings just as GoGo shoves the glazed ham into the oven. Her fingers are moist with mustard, honey, fat and glaze, and she hastily runs it over soapy water before rushing to get the door.

"Come in," GoGo grunts, trying not to sound breathless. Even without a mirror, she can tell that her hair is sticking to her forehead, and her face is flushed red. Her initially pristine apron is streaked with eggs, water and what not, and she's still dressed in an old too-large shirt and a pair of exercise shorts.

GoGo is distractedly considering how to wash her apron clean and clear the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink and set the table for her four guests and change into something more presentable when she raises her head and realises she's just opened the door to Tadashi Hamada.

Tadashi looks equally surprised at her frazzled state. They stare at each other for a few silent seconds before he mumbles something and GoGo snaps out of her trance.

"T– The house is messy," GoGo mumbles, finding an irate need to explain that she does not normally live in such conditions. She's vaguely aware of the fact that it is Tadashi's first time at her apartment, and it currently looks like a pigsty.

"It's still cleaner than my room," Tadashi muses, trying to sound assuring. GoGo knows that he's lying – Aunt Cass would never settle for dirty socks strewn across her nephew's room, and Tadashi isn't as good at being untidy as his younger brother is. She rolls her eyes, but can't help thinking that it's still (just a little bit) nice of him to try.

"I'll help lay the table," Tadashi volunteers, as GoGo looks into the kitchen and tries not to cringe. She offers him a stoic nod before entering the disaster zone to tackle the mountain of dirty dishes and utensils resting in her sink. It takes a while, but when said mountain diminishes to half of its initial height, GoGo allows herself to heave a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Tadashi has not only set the table. He has wiped her kitchen counters and placed all unused ingredients back into the fridge. GoGo flushes when she realises that he's done a lot more cleaning up than she has. Tadashi's supposed to be a guest for dinner – not someone who should help her clean up. Besides, what kind of cook causes such a big mess when she's only completed a handful of recipes?

"You're not supposed to be the one cleaning up, y'know?" GoGo points out casually. She hates causing trouble for her friends, even if they don't mind. Her pride refuses to let her impose on anyone.

"I wish Aunt Cass would say that to me once in a while," Tadashi laughs easily. He seems unperturbed for someone who's just helped to clean up half a kitchen. GoGo debates what to say next, but Tadashi changes the subject. "Hey, you're really using the apron I got you,"

GoGo stares down at her dirty apron and frowns at how damaged it looks. "I probably should have taken better care of it," she mumbles.

"Nah, the fact that it's dirty means that you actually bothered to use it." The ridiculously pleased look on Tadashi's face makes GoGo smile slightly for some reason. Before she knows it, Tadashi's smiling at her with that gentle look in his brown eyes–

The door bell rings.

GoGo tries not to blush three different shades of red and tells herself to woman up. She succeeds (mostly, anyway) and sends Tadashi to open the door for who she expects to be Honey Lemon, Wasabi and Fred, disappearing into her room to change into a purple pullover and a pair of loose jeans. When she returns, everyone's already seated at the table, chattering brightly. GoGo tries not to chortle at the mismatched chairs she has set up for the event – two dining chairs, taken by Tadashi and herself; one scruffy-looking foldable chair (freshly dug out from her storage room), occupied by Fred; and finally, two chairs on wheels, that Wasabi and Honey Lemon are sitting on.

"Sorry for the trouble, GoGo," Wasabi apologises, though he looks equally agonised at having to occupy a seat so out-of-place. GoGo nods silently at him before serving up bowls of fluffy mashed potato. They look almost edible in the petite white bowls she's dumped them in.

"Mashed potatoes," Fred whoops. He digs into his mashed potatoes enthusiastically – only to set off on a coughing spree almost immediately. Tadashi has to slap his back and hand him a glass of water before he finally wheezes to a stop.

GoGo tells herself it's purely accidental that Fred has choked. But when she starts to consume her share with a lot less enthusiasm, the reason behind Fred's sudden choking becomes startlingly clear. GoGo swallows hastily despite the burn in her throat. She hurriedly excuses herself from the table to get more drinks, and pretends that she doesn't hear her friends' hushed whispers.

"It didn't taste that _bad_…" She thinks it may have been Honey Lemon, trying to salvage the situation.

"Speak for yourself…" Probably Wasabi.

"Yea, I mean," It's Fred talking now. "I just don't get how she made it with _sugar_ instead of salt."

* * *

GoGo returns with an entire water pitcher – just in case – as well as the glazed ham. It's just a little charred, and they get through five bites of itbefore simultaneously reaching for their respective glasses of water.

"GoGo, I thought–" Honey coughs a little raspily. "That it said 2/3 cups of butter,"

"2/3 cups?" GoGo repeats, frowning. When all eyes turn to her at her surprised tone, she flushes just the slightest and mumbles a string of words

"Maybe I didn't see the /3 sign."

* * *

When they finally get to dessert, there's a tensed atmosphere lingering in the air. Honey Lemon and Tadashi are already at their fifth glasses of water, and so is Fred. Wasabi is at his seventh-and-a-half. All the dishes so far have either been too salty, too flavorless, overcooked, or undercooked. But the chocolate pudding that GoGo brings out of the fridge looks unusually decent. It's dome shaped – a dark brown confection drizzled with syrup and dusted with a fair amount of powdered sugar.

"It's like the calm before the storm," GoGo thinks she can hear Fred hiss. She rolls her eyes and sets it on the table, not bothering to deposit any on her plate. Everyone reserves rather small helpings for themselves – even Fred. There's a tentative note in the way they slice into their desserts at the same time.

GoGo watches as her friends lift a forkful of pudding into their mouth–

And widen their eyes.

"It… It tastes good!" Honey Lemon stutters, only realising her surprise is a blatant giveaway after a few seconds. "I mean–"

"Save it," GoGo mutters tiredly. She's right in not reserving any for herself. Upon realising that dessert is the only thing that tastes normal – or decent, even, Fred attacks it brightly, and the four of them manage to demolish the pudding into crumbs within minutes.

"It tastes brilliant–" Honey Lemon praises encouragingly. GoGo rolls her eyes again.

"The powdered sugar was a nice touch–" Wasabi volunteers, an unusually pleased smile on his face.

"It's _chocolate_," Fred says in bliss. "It's dense, warm, sweet, chocolatey perfection. Where'd you get the recipe, GoGo?" She can tell that he's trying to make up for his insensitive comments from earlier.

"It's store bought." GoGo flatly announces. She almost cracks a smile at the awkward and abrupt silence that follows. Quietly, GoGo rises from her seat. She retrieves the now empty pudding plate and mumbles something about getting more dessert. She doesn't remember her exact words; she just wants to get out of here.

GoGo scours her fridge for more desserts, until she comes across an unopened tub of peppermint ice cream. Prying it open a little harder than necessary, GoGo nearly falls back when the lid pops open. She ends up stumbling into someone instead, before regaining her balance.

"Need help?" Tadashi volunteers cautiously. GoGo can feel his eyes on her, trying to gauge her reaction and say something appropriate to salvage the situation.

"No," she replies shortly, still burning with a mixture of embarrassment and disappointment. "I screwed up. Nothing you say will change that." Nothing Tadashi says will change the fact that she messed up on the one day all of them could have dinner and fun together. GoGo feels uncomfortably warm in her thick pullover. Her face feels hot, and the disappointment leaves an acrid taste on her tongue that far overpowers the blemished flavours of the food she made.

"Okay, it wasn't the best meal–" GoGo shoots Tadashi a look. "Okay, it was a bad meal," he amends. When GoGo deflates even more at his words, he hurriedly backpedals. "But the results don't usually mean everything. The process can be far more important."

GoGo glances at him. Her unimpressed expression is enough to remind him that she rarely believes in sentiment. Tadashi pretends to huff in annoyance as she sets the ice cream tub on the kitchen counter.

"When I was eight years old, I decided to–" Tadashi pauses for a moment before continuing. "I decided to make my parents a meal. For their anniversary. Hiro was too young to cook, so I did it alone. I borrowed one of their cookbooks, read through all the recipes I wanted to make, and I got to work." The strain in his voice eases, and he laughs at the memory. "I ended up overcooking at least half of the food – the entire event was a big mess. But despite all that, my parents didn't get upset. They were just happy that I cared enough to make an effort and go through all the trouble."

"I know 'the thought that counts' doesn't really mean much to you, but I think it applies to the situation. I know that you worked hard to prepare for today–" Tadashi gestures around him, at the few Christmas decorations plastered to the walls. It's a rather half-hearted attempt at decorating, GoGo thinks, given that she lives alone, but it's something her friends would appreciate.

"In short, you went through so much effort despite the fact that it was outside your comfort zone and expertise. So, even if the dinner wasn't a great success, you still cared enough to try so hard. That's why I think the process is far more important than the results this time." Tadashi's ears turn a pale red as he trails off a little awkwardly, and GoGo almost smiles at the thought that she's not the only one bad at hiding her embarrassment (There's also the fact that Tadashi's embarrassment was a _little_ cute, but she will deny it if ever asked).

Then, GoGo stays quiet for a moment. She can count the number of times that Tadashi's brought up the topic of his parents (this makes five, so far) and even though he's starting to open up a bit more about it, she knows each time is never easy. She looks at Tadashi – whose warm brown eyes flicker with slight hesitance – and sighs. This time, the sigh is not one out of exasperation, but of acceptance.

"I get it. I messed up, but it's okay–" Tadashi grins and GoGo feels her heart skip an uncomfortable beat, "–And now, the ice cream's melting." Turning away, GoGo stops fighting a smile and mumbles a soft 'thank you'.

She thinks Tadashi hears her, because she can feel him smiling too.


	18. Bowling (or at least, attempted bowling)

**Author's notes: ... So hi guys? First of all I want to apologise for the utter inactivity. At first, lack of time was the problem. But then even though I had time afterwards, it became a serious case of writers' block. I have attempted several chapters before, but none of them amounted to much. In light of the nearing Christmas, I have decided to try again as both an apology for letting all the readers down and a semi-gift.**

**Thankfully, this attempt worked. While I'm still struggling with completing the other prompts (though rest assured, they will be completed. It just depends on when), I'm happy that I've at least managed to finish this half-written work.**

**This chapter is based off the idea that GoGo hides her imperfections and weaknesses because she is worried about disappointing or looking bad in front of her friends. I'm sorry if she appears OOC to readers, though the fact that she is not as unbreakable or stoic or eternally strong as she always appears to be appeals to me as an idea that she takes some time to build her confidence to the one we see in the movies (am I making sense i no longer know)**

**(On a side note: This chapter is a message to everyone who wants to try new things but don't dare to. Just do it. If it turns out unexpectedly fun, good for you! If it's not for you, don't do it again. Either way, it's a new experience.)**

**I apologise once again and hope this chapter doesn't suck too badly in comparison to my old ones.**

* * *

Just in case it hasn't been established before, GoGo Tomago doesn't like trying new things. She doesn't like breaching her comfort zone after having settled within it for so long, because she lacks control in anything beyond that boundary. And GoGo Tomago doesn't like not being in control.

She especially dislikes doing so when her friends around, because if – when – she screws up, she looks doubly bad. In their eyes, she's strong, stoic and unbreakable. And she likes it to remain that way.

Besides, her competitiveness gets in the way of learning new things. It's pointless to try something new and expect to be good at it, but GoGo can't help it at times. The adrenaline of competing – of winning – occasionally overwhelms her common sense, and while she's mellowed out a lot after meeting Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred and Tadashi, the desire to be the fastest, the strongest – the best – is still there at times.

So, rants and ramblings aside, that's why she doesn't know why she agreed to go bowling with her friends. It sounded easy and fun when Honey Lemon told her about it, but when GoGo finally steps into the bowling alley, she's starting to get a little nervous. She's never bowled before – even Fred's tried it. Twice. And she doesn't want to look weak in her inexperience.

GoGo briefly contemplates bailing. But Honey's already paying, and she can't come up with a reasonable excuse in time. So GoGo tells herself to woman up and steels herself. She trails after Honey Lemon to change her shoes into something with more friction in its soles, and is lucky to secure a pair that is fairly close to the size of her feet.

"Sooooo," Tadashi steps up next to her. "Have you bowled before?" Unfortunately, GoGo's unlucky about everything else. She wonders if her inexperience is shining through her every move as she stands from her bent position after tying her shoe laces.

"What do you think?" She replies flippantly, arms crossed. Tadashi glances down at her contemplatively, a hand on his chin, and GoGo rolls her eyes at how stupidly good-looking he is when he does that.

"Let's go, guys!" Honey Lemon's excited squeal draws their attention away from the conversation. GoGo drags her feet unwillingly to where everyone has gathered. The bowling alley is fairly empty, and GoGo feels slightly relieved that there will be less people around to witness her imminent embarrassment. But the fact that her four best friends will still be around, and that they matter more than everyone else in the population combined, does not improve GoGo's mood.

The game begins, and GoGo is set as the last person to go. Tadashi goes first, and of course, he has to be the best bowler out of the five of them. Five turns in, he has bowled four strikes, and knocked over all but one pin in his third turn. GoGo, on the other hand, has pitched a whopping total of four gutter balls and only managed to break her losing streak by knocking over two pins at her fifth try. She attempts to shrug off her continuous failures, but she knows her face is flushed not from the heat (thankfully, the air conditioning was pathetic here and hence, she has a relatively legitimate excuse) but from embarrassment at her pathetic scores.

She's officially last out of the Nerd Lab's occupants. Even Fred has knocked down more pins than her, and his bowling method consisted of turning his back to face the bowling alley, bending down, then hurling the bowling ball through his legs. (A small part of GoGo wishes she _wasn't_ scared of how she looked or appeared to her friends, like Fred. A larger part of her thinks that even then, she wouldn't want to try something so foolish-looking - however effective it might be).

After her sixth turn (she can officially add one to make a grand total of _three_ pins if anyone were to ask her how many she has knocked down so far), GoGo sits down on one of the seats at the back of the bowling alley and sighs heavily. It's only been half an hour and she already wants the day to end. Closing her eyes, GoGo refuses to open them even when she hears someone sit next to her.

If it's Honey Lemon, she's going to ignore the blonde's attempts to comfort her ("C'mon, GoGo, you _did_ manage to knock down another pin!). If it's Wasabi, she's going to turn away if he launches into another pedantic lecture about her bowling form. If it's Fred... GoGo stuffs her hands into her pocket just in case she feels the overwhelming urge to punch him. She's well aware that she is particularly irritated today, and even she doesn't think it fair for her to vent everything on Fred.

But GoGo can guess that it is none of those three. Because in her experience, whenever she's down, it is always Tadashi Hamada who will appear by her side - whether she likes it or not.

"So about that question I asked you earlier,' Tadashi muses aloud. "I guess it's a no?"

GoGo would have rolled her eyes behind her eyelids, but she is too tired to expend energy for a meagre show of annoyance that Tadashi cannot even see.

"Hey, are you rolling your eyes at me now?"

... Never mind. GoGo huffs loudly and settles for a flat "What gave it away?" in response to his prior comment. She hates that she's so ridiculously bad at bowling; hates that she's so caught up in this stupid game. But most of all, she hates how foolish she looks in front of the only people whose opinions she actually cares about (albeit to a certain degree); hates how she's a coward under all her stoic bravado and that she's actually terrified at what her friends will think of her after this. Lastly, she hates how Tadashi is probably staring at her with that concerned wide-eyed expression again even though she can't see it.

"C'mon GoGo," Tadashi insists. "Games are supposed to be fun!"

"Not if they end up making you look like a loser," GoGo shoots back as she finally opens her eyes, unimpressed. Tadashi remains silent at that, and GoGo suddenly feels guilty for being a spoilsport.

"Sorry–" she starts to mumble, but Tadashi cuts her off.

"Can't be helped, then," Tadashi says suddenly. He rises from his seat and GoGo gazes at him wordlessly, wondering if he is annoyed or even angry. When Tadashi simply fixes her a cheerful grin, she feels an abrupt wave of relief that she'd deny ever feeling.

Tadashi stretches out his hand. "I'll teach you how to bowl."

"... What?" GoGo squints up at him as she crosses her arms in her seat. Repetitive as that action may be, it's her protective hell no stance. "No."

"Why not?" Tadashi actually looks aghast that she has shot down his suggestion. GoGo snorts in reply.

"I'll just end up looking like an idiot."

"No you'll not." Tadashi's probably saying that because he's always been stupidly nice. But his voice is so full of conviction that for a fleeting moment, GoGo wants to believe him and drop her guard.

Then the moment passes and her eyes harden. Tadashi seems to notice this. He drops his outstretched hand and stuffs it in his pockets with an exasperated smile.

"We're your friends," he points out softly. "You know we'll never look down on you. Honey adores you, Wasabi respects you - however grudgingly, and Fred admires you. Even if he is equally afraid of you." The last line prompts a reluctant smile from GoGo. But there's someone else whose opinions GoGo wants to know about.

"What about you? Would you think I look like an idiot?"

The question catches Tadashi unexpectedly. His eyes widen and for a while, his calm confidence seems to falter. GoGo immediately regrets her words. That question is too personal and too sudden all at once.

(Even though she feels a little sting of disappointment at his hesitance, GoGo quashes that sensation).

"Never mind," GoGo mumbles as she stands from her seat. "You can ignore that." Clearing her throat to make up for the unusually tensed atmosphere, GoGo places her hands on her hips firmly. Tadashi is still staring at her with that mildly dazed expression.

"Well? When are we goint to start?"

* * *

"First of all, a bowling ball should weigh ten percent of your body weight," Tadashi announces. GoGo grunts in reply as she shuffles through the bowling balls set in a neat row, gingerly testing their weight from time to time. A part of her still regrets accepting the lesson. But a bigger part of her knows she'll regret not at least giving it a try. So GoGo eventually elects a purple bowling ball that's neither too light not heavy (though whether it's actually ten pervent of her body weight or not remains unknown to her). The fact that it happens to be her favourite colour does not miss Tadashi's notice.

"You were fated to be equipped with it," he teases brightly. GoGo's reply is to roll her eyes. This time, for Tadashi to see.

"Tacky." That comment causes Tadashi to give the bowling ball in her hands a quick appraisal.

"It's not that bad,"

"I was talking about you." GoGo grins as Tadashi lapses into an indignant splutter. For the first time since the outing has begun, she thinks she might actually be having fun.

* * *

"You're probably aiming to throw a straight ball, so make sure to keep your hand and wrist straight during your release," Tadashi demonstrates this motion slowly, and GoGo nods in reply, although she doubts that she will be able to pull it off successfully.

"Complete your shot by throwing the ball down the lane as it passes your ankles. Then bring your arm up to the height of your shoulders..." GoGo frowns in confusion at the further set of instructions. How is she supposed to keep track of so much when she's bowling?

"GoGo, it's your turn!" Honey Lemon's voice cuts the lesson short, and GoGo hesitates as she leaves her position. But before she takes her first step, Tadashi's hand lands on top of her head and he proceeds to ruffle her hair.

"Good luck out there, Tomago," he says dramatically, as if she's headed for war instead of her turn at a bowling game. GoGo can't fight off a grin and yet another eye roll as she socks his arm.

"Thanks a lot, Hamada," GoGo quips sarcastically in reply. She's surprised to find that she does mean it.

Trying to recall Tadashi's advice vividly, GoGo takes a few steps, kneels her right foot the way she's seen Honey and Tadashi do, and tries her best to maintain a straight line with her hands and wrist. To her surprise, she manages to knock down half the pins. While GoGo knows that's far from a good score (given how behind she is right now, she thinks she'd need a miracle - or two strikes, which is actually the same thing, really - to even catch up with the rest. But it's the best shot she'd made all day, so she ends her turn with a satisfied sense of accomplishment.

While she still throws gutter balls every now and then (one of them being Fred's fault because he chose the moment of her point of release to sneeze _ridiculously_ loudly; causing her to lose her grip, fumble, and roll the ball straight into the gutter. GoGo fought the strong urge to hurl a bowling ball at him only she saw Honey Lemon's horrified expression), GoGo finds herself hitting more pins than before. While she is still far from good and bowling is still far from fun, she does find it less of a chore than before.

When the game ends, GoGo's still in the last position (one point away from Fred, much to her silent dismay). But surprisingly, she doesn't mind. Not when she sees her friends smiling by her side as they laugh and return to their shoes together (save Wasabi, who'd brought his own bowling shoes. By now, GoGo doesn't even find his eccentricities surprising anymore). Not when she catches Tadashi's eye and they both grin like they've enjoyed themselves.

GoGo feels somewhat ashamed at her overly unwilling and reluctant manner to join the game earlier, and her excessive worrying about how Tadashi, Honey Lemon, Fred and Wasabi would view her for how utterly pathetic she is at bowling. They're her friends, after all. She should have trusted them to not sneer at her even when they realise she's not as strong as she'd like (them, or herself, actually) to believe.

But still, when she sees Tadashi and Honey Lemon laughing together as the tall willowy blonde gathers her belongings, GoGo feels a twinge of _something_ in her gut. She tells herself it's curiosity, really, as they head out of the bowling alley to grab dinner.

* * *

"Had fun today?" At a noisy cafeteria, Tadashi poses this question as he and GoGo wait in line to order their food. They've been sent as representatives for the entire group, because five was suffocating, four was excessive and three was a crowd (according to Wasabi). So they settled for two, because they needed someone good at communicating and some muscle to help said someone. Of course, GoGo knows which category she falls into.

"Maybe." She tries to keep her expression stoic, but her lips twitch into a smile and she knows Tadashi can tell it is a yes.

"Honey Lemon said she's happy that you sucked at bowling," Tadashi relays to her as the queue finally moves.

"... Thanks," GoGo turns to shoot a look of suspicion at the blonde, who is deep in conversation with Wasabi.

"Not her words exactly," Tadashi hastens to clarify. "But, well, she said you always seemed so invincible that she felt like she couldn't measure up as a friend." GoGo blinks, taken aback. "Like you were always protecting us. I guess that fact that you weren't that good with bowling shows that you're still human, huh?" Tadashi gives a soft laugh while GoGo remains silent.

"To be honest, I feel the same way as she did. You don't always have to remain that strong unbreakable presence. You can always be comfortable around us. You know that don't you, Leiko?" GoGo feels her face take on a rosy hue at the way Tadashi's voice softens when he's using her old first name. She chalks it off to the heat, even though their air-conditioning here is the direct opposite of the one at the bowling alley.

"Yea. Thanks, for today." They both know the today GoGo is referring to means more than just the brief bowling lessons. It means everything he has said and the reminder he has given her.

"And about that question on whether I'd think you were an idiot or not if I saw you do badly..." GoGo gives Tadashi a startled look, shocked that he actually remembers the question.

"I'd never think you're an idiot. I get _bowled over_ by your presence!"

It takes an excruciating five seconds for GoGo to register that pun, five seconds to close her eyes and groan (because any further rolling of her eyeballs will lead to them dropping out soon one day), and another five to sock Tadashi in the gut as he doubles over with pain and laughter.

Yet absurdly foolish puns aside, and the fact that her fingers are still a little cramped from the bout of bowling, GoGo feels contented as she and Tadashi return with the designated meals and she settles into her seat next to him with all her friends by her side.


End file.
